butter

noun

A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).

(cooking) 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).

Any of various substances made from other (especially plant-based) oils or fats, used in moisturizers, cosmetics, etc.

(aviation, slang) A smooth plane landing.

Someone or something that butts.

Someone or something that butts in; a busybody.

A surname.

(obsolete, chemistry) Any specific soft substance.

verb

(transitive) To spread butter on.

(skiing, snowboarding) 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

(slang, obsolete, transitive) To increase (stakes) at every throw of dice, or every game.

Roots

boutyronbutter- · Greek · butter

Synonyms for butter

margarinen oleomargarinen buttermilkn creamn oleon gheen cheesen doughn curdn clabbern

Synonyms & related words for butter

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of butter — including margarine, oleomargarine, buttermilk, cream, oleo, ghee. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to butter

Explore words related to butter — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include butyraceous, buttery, buttercream, bread, butterfat, spreadable, churner, streusel. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for butter

Common synonyms for butter include margarine, oleomargarine, buttermilk, cream, oleo, ghee, cheese, dough — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does butter come from?

The word butter breaks down into one root of Greek origin: the root butter-, from Greek boutyron (“butter”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.