butter knife

American  

noun

1. a small knife with a dull blade, for cutting, serving, or spreading butter.

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Etymology

Origin of butter knife

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

butter knife

Crisp cookies soften into clouds of lightly sweetened cream, layered with jam or mascarpone, until the whole thing collapses just enough to make slicing with a butter knife feel like a small act of rebellion.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025

On their tidy potting bench, a butter knife rests in a pot, at the ready to tackle any unwanted sprouts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2024

Burns’s prose pours out in dense, heavily referential paragraphs you may need more than a butter knife to cut through, and the forward engine of plot feels more like a suggestion than a fact.

From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2024

All sorts of items surfaced: metal parts from the tramway, a rusted butter knife, old Soviet coins.

From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2023

She took the butter knife from me and rushed off to show the cook.

From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed