butter

[ buht-er ]

/ ˈbʌt ər /

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.

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Question 1 of 9

You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?

To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.

To stew in a sauce for a long time.

To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.

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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. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for butter

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
Add chocolate and butter to the bowl and melt, stirring to combine.
Carla Hall’s Christmas Day Treat: Rum Balls|Carla Hall|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When nearly done, add some pieces of butter rolled in flour.
Miss Leslie's Lady's New Receipt-Book|Eliza Leslie
If you want some butter it doesn't matter whether you buy it from Brown or Jones or Robinson.'
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists|Robert Tressell
Simmer the flakes of two crabs and one-half of a chopped onion in butter.
The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book|Victor Hirtzler
From the springing of the grass till September, butter is made in great profusion.
A New Guide for Emigrants to the West|J. M. Peck
Simple sugar icings into which some butter is beaten may also be utilized to advantage in making French pastry of this kind.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

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

Medical definitions for butter

butter

[ bŭt′ər ]

n.

A soft yellowish or whitish emulsion of butterfat, water, air, and sometimes salt, churned from milk or cream and processed for use in cooking and as a food.

A soft solid having at room temperature a consistency like that of butter.

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

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butter