butter

[ buht-er ]

/ ˈbʌt ər /

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See synonyms for: butter / buttered / buttering on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

this substance, processed for cooking and table use.

any of various other soft spreads for bread: apple butter; peanut butter.

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

verb (used with object)

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

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

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

Verb Phrases

butter up, Informal. 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.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of butter

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

OTHER WORDS FROM butter

but·ter·less, adjectivebut·ter·like, adjectiveun·but·tered, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH butter

budder, butter

Words nearby butter

butt bra, butt chisel, butt-dial, butte, butt end, butter, butter-and-egg man, butter-and-eggs, butterball, butter bean, butterbread

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use butter in a sentence

All the downsides of popcorn but none of the good butter grease.
The Rise and Fall of the Rice Cake, America’s One-Time Favorite Health Snack|Brenna Houck|September 17, 2020|Eater
Company-provided data show that while travelers are booking almost twice as many remote stays as last year, home rentals in urban markets—Airbnb’s bread and butter—are still struggling.
Airbnb CEO: The pandemic will force us to see more of the world, not less|Verne Kopytoff|September 7, 2020|Fortune
A 19th-century Pennsylvania Dutch doctor’s manual instructs its reader to inscribe the square in butter smeared on a piece of bread and eat it as a cure for rabies.
The ancient palindrome that explains Christopher Nolan’s Tenet|Alissa Wilkinson|September 4, 2020|Vox
The consumer piece was easier to fix—sell, don’t store, the butter.
Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford explains why farmers need broadband|Ellen McGirt|August 18, 2020|Fortune

It is the large quantities of salt and the sodium in the butters that are used to season them that can lead to high blood pressure.
Is It Time to Put Down Soul Food?|Tyler Brady|November 27, 2017|TruthBeTold.news
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Make ‘The Chew’s’ Carla Hall’s Sticky Toffee Pudding|Carla Hall|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
While the beans are cooling and drying, melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Butter has always been a healthy part of the diet in almost every culture; butter is a traditional food,” Asprey says.
Bulletproof Coffee and the Case for Butter as a Health Food|DailyBurn|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, his new book “The Bulletproof Diet,” claims to offer a weight loss solution that lets you have your butter, and eat it too.
Bulletproof Coffee and the Case for Butter as a Health Food|DailyBurn|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By Amanda Woerner for Life by DailyBurn Butter is making a comeback—and it has nothing to do with Paula Deen.
Bulletproof Coffee and the Case for Butter as a Health Food|DailyBurn|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sailors sometimes use it to fry their meat, for want of butter, and find it agreeable enough.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
You see, they always butter their chairs so that they won't stick fast when they sit down.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
The former, in its frozen state, somewhat resembled hard butter.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
He shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Your electro-plated butter-dish, or whatever it's going to be, will be simply flung back at you.
First Plays|A. A. Milne

British Dictionary definitions for butter

butter

/ (ˈbʌtə) /

noun

an edible fatty whitish-yellow solid made from cream by churning, for cooking and table use
(as modifier)butter icing Related adjective: butyraceous

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

look as if butter wouldn't melt in one's mouth to look innocent, although probably not so

verb (tr)

to put butter on or in

to flatter

Word Origin for butter

Old English butere, from Latin būtyrum, from Greek bouturon, from bous cow + turos cheese

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with butter

butter

In addition to the idioms beginning with butter

butter up
butter wouldn't melt in one's mouth

also see:

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

butter

Origin of butter

OTHER WORDS FROM butter

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH butter

Words nearby butter

Words related to butter

How to use butter in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for butter

Word Origin for butter

Other Idioms and Phrases with butter