butter

[ buht-er ]
/ ˈbʌt ər /

noun

verb (used with object)

Verb Phrases

butter up, Informal. 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.

Origin of butter

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

OTHER WORDS FROM butter

but·ter·less, adjective but·ter·like, adjective un·but·tered, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH butter

budder butter

Example sentences from the Web for butter

British Dictionary definitions for butter

butter
/ (ˈbʌtə) /

noun

  1. an edible fatty whitish-yellow solid made from cream by churning, for cooking and table use
  2. (as modifier)butter icing Related adjective: butyraceous
any substance with a butter-like consistency, such as peanut butter or vegetable butter
look as if butter wouldn't melt in one's mouth to look innocent, although probably not so

verb (tr)

to put butter on or in
to flatter
See also butter up

Word Origin for butter

Old English butere, from Latin būtyrum, from Greek bouturon, from bous cow + turos cheese

Medical definitions for butter

butter
[ bŭtər ]

n.

A soft yellowish or whitish emulsion of butterfat, water, air, and sometimes salt, churned from milk or cream and processed for use in cooking and as a food.
A soft solid having at room temperature a consistency like that of butter.

Idioms and Phrases with butter

butter