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

He attributes this to chocolate shakes, chicken soup and peanut butter.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Honda’s bread and butter is still in their production vehicles,” Shaw said.

From Los Angeles Times

Further inflation would hurt economic demand, as well as banks’ bread and butter: loan volumes, corporate transaction volumes, and financial market activity.

From Barron's

I know better than to attempt to get Celia to reveal anything before she’s ready, so I make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and let Celia’s little mystery go, for now.

From Literature

Laminated with cinnamon-cardamom butter, it promises a fragrant sauna when torn apart.

From Salon

Related Words

• margarine
• oil
• shortening