butter knife

American  

noun

1. a small knife with a dull blade, for cutting, serving, or spreading butter.

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Etymology

Origin of butter knife

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

“Our butter knife was a brain retractor,” he says with a playful smile.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2025

Cool muffins on a rack for 5 minutes, then use a thin offset spatula or butter knife to extract each from its cup.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 23, 2024

Burns’s prose pours out in dense, heavily referential paragraphs you may need more than a butter knife to cut through, and the forward engine of plot feels more like a suggestion than a fact.

From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2024

As soon as the cakes are pulled from the oven, run a butter knife or a small offset spatula around the edges of the pans to release the meringue before it hardens and sticks.

From Washington Post • Apr. 1, 2023

“The longer the war goes on,” Maddie said, carefully cutting her iced bun in half with a tin butter knife, “the older I’ll get.”

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein