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butter
[ buht-er ]
/ ˈbʌt ər /
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noun
verb (used with object)
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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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, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH butter
budder, butterWords nearby butter
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use butter in a sentence
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
See also butter up
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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Other Idioms and Phrases with butter
butter
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.