What does "butter" mean?
A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).
Butter
/ˈbʌt.əɹ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).
- Grammar: butter is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: albumen, batter, bedaub, besmear.
- Useful contrasts: crisco, ghee, margarine.
- Usage evidence: We make milk into cheese and butter.
How to use "butter"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "butter" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "butter" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "butter" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "butter" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "butter" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "albumen" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "butter", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk). uncountable, usually
- 2 Someone or something that butts.
"[…] these animals lacked self-correcting mechanisms of the kind seen in modern head-butters such as goats and big-horn sheep that would have kept the tremendous forces aligned with the rest of the skeleton."
- 3 an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use wordnet
- 4 Any of various foodstuffs made from other foods or oils, similar in consistency to, eaten like or intended as a substitute for butter (preceded by the name of the food used to make it). uncountable, usually
"peanut butter"
- 5 Someone or something that butts in; a busybody.
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 a fighter who strikes the opponent with their head wordnet
- 7 Any of various substances made from other (especially plant-based) oils or fats, used in moisturizers, cosmetics, etc. uncountable, usually
"Butters such as cocoa, illippe, kokum, mango, murumuru, sal (shorea) and shea occur naturally and are obtained directly from the plant."
- 8 Any specific soft substance. obsolete, uncountable, usually
"butter of antimony; butter of arsenic"
- 9 A smooth plane landing. slang, uncountable, usually
"That landing was total butter!"
Verb
- 1 To spread butter on. transitive
"Butter the toast."
- 2 spread butter on wordnet
- 3 To move one's weight backwards or forwards onto the tips or tails of one's skis or snowboard so only the tip or tail is in contact with the snow. Similar to applying butter to bread with the end of a knife.
- 4 To move one's weight backwards or forwards onto the tips or tails of one's skis or snowboard so only the tip or tail is in contact with the snow. Similar to applying butter to bread with the end of a knife.; To spin on skis or a snowboard using only the tips or tails being in contact with the snow
- 5 To increase (stakes) at every throw of dice, or every game. obsolete, slang, transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"We make milk into cheese and butter."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "butter"?
Common synonyms include: albumen, batter, bedaub, besmear, blandness, blarney.
How do you use "butter" in a sentence?
We make milk into cheese and butter.
How do you pronounce "butter"?
Pronounced /ˈbʌt.əɹ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
PIE word *gʷṓws From Middle English buter, butter, from Old English butere, from Proto-West Germanic *buterā, from Latin būtȳrum, from Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron, “cow cheese”), compound of βοῦς (boûs, “ox, cow”) and τῡρός (tūrós, “cheese”).
Etymology 2
From butt + -er.
Etymology 3
Various origins: * From butter, a metonymic occupational surname for a dairyman or seller of butter. * From Old French butor (“bittern”), a nickname for someone who resembled a bittern, perhaps because of his voice. * Borrowed from Dutch and German Butter, possibly a short form of various compound names.