butterscotch
Americannoun
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a flavor produced in puddings, frostings, ice cream, etc., by combining brown sugar, vanilla extract, and butter with other ingredients.
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a hard, brittle taffy made with butter, brown sugar, etc.
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a golden brown color.
adjective
noun
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a kind of hard brittle toffee made with butter, brown sugar, etc
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a flavouring made from these ingredients
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( as modifier )
butterscotch icing
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Etymology
Origin of butterscotch
First recorded in 1850–55; earlier also butterscot; the 2nd element of the compound is unexplained
Vocabulary lists containing butterscotch
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The cake had a butterscotch frosting, which was brown and thus “weird.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
Or classic brown butter chocolate chip cookies, which adds notes of butterscotch and toffee that enhance the cookies’ overall depth.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2025
They’re brewed here by the potful, along with Bold Black Mamba — a nod to “Kill Bill” — plus cold brew and sweetened coffee concoctions such as lavender vanilla, raspberry mocha and butterscotch caramel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
Its basic dough is close to my favorite oatmeal raisin iteration, full of dark brown sugar for butterscotch notes and crisp, caramelized edges.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 21, 2024
There you are now, she says, a nice bit of butterscotch.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
