Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

buttercup

/ˈbʌt.ɚ.kʌp/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.79 in modern English

Syllables
but-ter-cup
IPA
/ˈbʌt.ɚ.kʌp/
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of many herbs, of the genus Ranunculus, having yellow flowers; the crowfoot.

noun

Any flower of the genus Narcissus; a daffodil.

noun

Ellipsis of buttercup squash.

noun

An affectionate or ironic term of address.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From butter + cup. Both sense 1 and 2 are from the flowers' association with butter, from their yellow colour. Compare butterflower for a similar derivation; outside of English, compare Dutch boterbloem, German Butterblume.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈbʌt.ɚ.kʌp/
  • British English: /ˈbʌt.ə.kʌp/

Inflected Forms

buttercups (plural)

Derived Forms

buttercuplike buttercupped

Phrases

Bermuda buttercup bulbous buttercup buttercup anemone buttercup squash buttercup tree California buttercup creeping buttercup glacier buttercup

Synonyms

butterflower crowfoot goldballs goldcup gold-knop ranunculus butter-flower kingcup

Questions

How do you pronounce buttercup?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbʌt.ɚ.kʌp/.
What does buttercup mean?
Any of many herbs, of the genus Ranunculus, having yellow flowers; the crowfoot.
Where does buttercup come from?
From butter + cup. Both sense 1 and 2 are from the flowers' association with butter, from their yellow colour. Compare butterflower for a similar derivation; outside of English, compare Dutch boterbloem, German Butterblume.

How to pronounce buttercup

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