butterfingers

[ buht-er-fing-gerz ]
/ ˈbʌt ərˌfɪŋ gɛrz /

noun, plural but·ter·fin·gers. (used with a singular verb)

a person who frequently drops things; clumsy person.

Origin of butterfingers

First recorded in 1830–40; butter + finger + -s3

OTHER WORDS FROM butterfingers

but·ter·fin·gered, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for butterfingers

  • And, as every boy in the world knows, it is a great disgrace to be called "Butterfingers."

    Half-Past Seven Stories |Robert Gordon Anderson
  • You have just permitted the cleverest rascal in the state to slip through your butterfingers.

    Hearts and Masks |Harold MacGrath
  • Butterfingers was gone, she had got her a place in Somersetshire, so anxiety on that score was over.

    Ask Momma |R. S. Surtees

British Dictionary definitions for butterfingers

butterfingers
/ (ˈbʌtəˌfɪŋɡəz) /

noun

(functioning as singular) informal a person who drops things inadvertently or fails to catch things

Derived forms of butterfingers

butterfingered, adjective