Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

butter

/ˈbʌtɚ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.40 in modern English

Syllables
but-ter
IPA
/ˈbʌtɚ/
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

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

Uncountable

noun

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

noun

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

Uncountable

noun

Any specific soft substance.

Obsolete; Uncountable

noun

Something that is smooth, impressive, or appealing. (Compare smooth as butter.)

Slang; Uncountable

noun

Something that is smooth, impressive, or appealing. (Compare smooth as butter.)

Slang; Uncountable

verb

To spread butter on.

Transitive verb

verb

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.

Example Sentences

Etymology

PIE word *gʷṓws Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Hellenic *gʷous Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs) Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *tuh₂rós Proto-Hellenic *tūrós Ancient Greek τυρός (turós) Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron)bor. Latin būtȳrumbor. Proto-West Germanic *buterā Old English butere Middle English buter English butter 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”). Cognate with Dutch boter and German Butter.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *tewh₂-, buter, butere, *buterā, būtȳrum, βούτῡρον

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈbʌtɚ/
  • British English: /ˈbʌtə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

butters (plural) butta (alternative, slang) buttah (alternative, slang) butters (present, singular) buttering (participle, present) buttered (participle, past) buttered (past)

Derived Forms

budder butterable butterbird butterburger butterbutt buttercream buttercrunch butterdock butterer butterface butterfaced butterhead

Phrases

almond butter almond-butter apple butter back butter back-butter bean-butter black butter blue butter

Frequently Paired Words

butterface butterfly butter-ham lard shortening fat drippings renderings

Rhymes With

utter cutter shutter gutter clutter sutter flutter stutter putter what're nutter mutter

Questions

How do you pronounce butter?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbʌtɚ/.
What does butter mean?
A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).
Where does butter come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce butter

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “butter”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbʌtɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “butter”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “butter” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.