butter

[buht-er]

noun

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

2. this substance, processed for cooking and table use.

3. any of various other soft spreads for bread.

   apple butter; peanut butter.

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

verb (used with object)

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

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

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

verb phrase

1. butter up,  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.

butter

/ ˈbʌtə /

noun

1. 1. an edible fatty whitish-yellow solid made from cream by churning, for cooking and table use

   2. ( as modifier )

      butter icing

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

3. to look innocent, although probably not so

verb

1. to put butter on or in

2. to flatter

Other Word Forms

• butterless adjective
• butterlike adjective
• unbuttered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of butter¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of butter¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

Beneath a crust of sliced almonds, the cake is mostly ground pistachios and flour enriched with butter, eggs and sugar.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This countertop infusion machine manages every step — drying, decarboxylation, infusion — so you can turn out oils, butters, honeys, and more with reliable results.

Read more on Salon

Additionally, Stewart revealed the secret ingredient that goes into her mother’s mashed potatoes recipe: “Cream cheese with the butter and the milk.”

Read more on Salon

“You can lay a little bit more butter on it,” the director remembers telling him.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Yes, bread knives, spreading pain across my soul. Like butter.”

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• margarine 
• oil 
• shortening