butter sauce

American  

noun

1. a sauce made of melted butter, often diluted with water, sometimes thickened with flour or egg yolk, or both, and seasoned with lemon juice.

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Etymology

Origin of butter sauce

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Example Sentences

After a few runs, settle in for a hearty lunch of schnitzel and spinach dumplings cooked in brown butter sauce at Filzalm, a cozy mountain hut perched 4,265 feet above sea level.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026

Make shrimp scampi with a garlic, white wine and butter sauce.

From New York Times • Apr. 26, 2023

The brick-red butter sauce, emulsified with a splash of the pasta cooking water, coats spaghetti here, but you can use whatever noodles you like.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 9, 2023

"Slick it on noodles, make a butter sauce for noodles, make achar butter grilled cheese — all of which we've done," he said.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2023

Styx spoke over me, his voice as smooth as Mom’s butter sauce.

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon