butter

American  

[buht-er] / ˈbʌt ər /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to put butter on or in

2. to flatter

butter Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing butter

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

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Other Word Forms

• butterless adjective
• butterlike adjective
• unbuttered adjective

Etymology

Origin of butter

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

Example Sentences

When she comes inside, our little motel room fills with smells—yeast and butter, and the distinct scent of coffee.

From Literature

In Piedmont, dairy-rich cooking leans into butter, cheese, and slow braises.

From Salon

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

I’m momentarily reminded of the daughter of a British greengrocer, Margaret Thatcher, who, early in her political career, established her economic credentials by the simple expedient of knowing the price of butter.

From The Wall Street Journal

Next he devoured a package of jerky, and chased it down with an entire plastic jar of peanut butter.

From Literature

Related Words

• margarine
• oil
• shortening