butter

American  

[buht-er] / ˈbʌt ər /

noun

1. the fatty portion of milk, separating as a soft whitish or yellowish solid when milk or cream is agitated or churned.

2. this substance, processed for cooking and table use.

3. any of various other soft spreads for bread.

   apple butter; peanut butter.

4. any of various substances of butterlike consistency, as various metallic chlorides, and certain vegetable oils solid at ordinary temperatures.

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verb (used with object)

1. to put butter on or in; spread or grease with butter.

2. to apply a liquefied bonding material to (a piece or area), as mortar to a course of bricks.

3. Metalworking. to cover (edges to be welded together) with a preliminary surface of the weld metal.

verb phrase

1. butter up to flatter someone in order to gain a favor.

   He suspected that they were buttering him up when everyone suddenly started being nice to him.

butter British  

/ ˈbʌtə /

noun

1. 1. an edible fatty whitish-yellow solid made from cream by churning, for cooking and table use

   2. ( as modifier )

      butter icing

2. any substance with a butter-like consistency, such as peanut butter or vegetable butter

3. to look innocent, although probably not so

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verb

1. to put butter on or in

2. to flatter

butter Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing butter

• bread and butter
• bread-and-butter letter
• know which side of bread is buttered

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Other Word Forms

• butterless
  adjective
• butterlike
  adjective
• unbuttered
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of butter

before 1000; Middle English; Old English butere < Latin būtȳrum < Greek boútȳron

Explanation

Butter is a creamy spread made from milk fat. Your favorite breakfast might be hot toast slathered with butter. The process of making butter involves churning cream until the fats coagulate and become creamy and pale yellow. Butter is sometimes salted, and usually formed into sticks for cooks to use in frying, baking, and spreading on corn on the cob and baked goods. To do this is to butter your bread. The Greek root word is boutyron, literally "cow cheese," from bous, "cow."

Example Sentences

A more humorous example of this, he said, is a 2015 Instagram photo from TSA of an open jar of peanut butter.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

British products that will have tariffs removed include cheddar cheese, butter and chocolate.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

If the skillet seems dry, add the butter.

From Salon • May 19, 2026

The Make America Healthy Again movement, for which Kennedy is the de facto leader, promotes a diet heavy in meat and animal products, such as butter, beef tallow and raw milk.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

Helena hugs me and hugs me, and brings me some toast with butter.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

Related Words

• margarine
• oil
• shortening