Meaning of butter in English:

butter

Pronunciation /ˈbʌtə/

See synonyms for butter on Thesaurus.com

Translate butter into Spanish

noun

mass noun

A pale yellow edible fatty substance made by churning cream and used as a spread or in cooking.
‘They are served hot or cold spread with butter or margarine and sometimes jelly jam and cream.’
- ‘We defined high fat dairy food as whole milk, ice cream, hard cheese, butter, and sour cream.’
- ‘Dairy products such as butter, cream, and cheese are important parts of the diet, along with pork.’
- ‘Beat the egg yolk into the batter, followed by the sour cream and melted butter.’
- ‘They can be eaten as is, or sliced in two and spread with a little butter, clotted cream and/or jam.’
- ‘Just one tablespoon of butter, sour cream or gravy can double the calories in a potato.’
- ‘When cream is churned to make butter, the agitation breaks up the water into droplets.’
- ‘Milk products were common in the form of sour cream and butter from cows and yaks.’
- ‘Staff were even instructed to cream the butter before spreading to make sure customers got even less for their money.’
- ‘There are 20 classes for hard and soft cheeses, yoghurt, cream and butter.’
- ‘Surely it is also dedicated to getting people to buy as much milk, cheese, butter, yogurt and ice cream as possible?’
- ‘When using butter, it is best to cream the sugar and butter for some time before combining with the flour.’
- ‘The cream, fresh butter and jam came in three separate dishes.’
- ‘The server returned to replace my tuna fork, but not either of the pointy knives which earlier we had been struggling to spread butter with.’
- ‘I took no sugar, no butter and no other cooking fat of any sort because to get these rare commodities I would have had to ask Stewart to give me some.’
- ‘Watch out for butter and cream hidden in many casseroles and other dishes, bakery goods and desserts.’
- ‘I used to help my father from the age of 10, delivering butter and fresh cream on my bicycle.’
- ‘Cream butter and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.’
- ‘Serve over mashed potatoes that have been whipped with lots of butter and milk or cream.’
- ‘Cutting out the obvious milk, butter, cream, yoghurt, and cheese is not enough.’
fat, oil, cooking oil, animal fat

verb

[with object]

Spread (something) with butter.
‘Lily buttered a slice of toast’
- ‘Apryl half-heartedly smiled back as she picked up a slice of toast and buttered it.’
- ‘Janice had made her two slices of toast and buttered them, and set them on the counter by the door, wrapped in a paper towel.’
- ‘She said: ‘I was buttering a piece of bread and I just dropped what I was doing.’’
- ‘When buttering bread use low fat polyunsaturated or monounsaturated margarine.’
- ‘Place a slice of lightly buttered granary toast on each plate and spoon the scrambled egg on top.’
- ‘The toaster dinged and I pulled out the bread, buttering it in my hand.’
- ‘When the toast popped up she buttered it and placed each slice onto a saucer.’
- ‘I buttered a piece of bread and made my way outside to begin weeding, still chewing on my bread.’
- ‘He reached for some bread and buttered it, but when no one else spoke, he glanced up.’
- ‘Who can resist freshly spread hot buns and or a lightly buttered French stick?’
- ‘‘So,’ I asked, buttering a piece of toast, ‘What's on the schedule for today?’’
- ‘I sigh at his audacity, buttering a piece of toast.’
- ‘I peeked into the kitchen and saw Tracy buttering a piece of toast.’
- ‘She was just sitting there, buttering another piece of toast with a knife and jam.’
- ‘As for Mr Sarma, buttering the right side of the bread is an old trick he has mastered from his student days.’
- ‘Another cut her fruit into bite-size pieces, and a third sliced and buttered her bread.’
- ‘The freshly buttered warm garlic toast made a tasty companion to the vegetable soup, and the pasta dishes were spot on.’
- ‘Haig buttered his toast, then spread one slice with orange marmalade and the other with lime marmalade.’
- ‘Then when the toast was browned, I buttered it, and spooned the mushrooms on top.’
- ‘The fish arrived at our table piping hot with just the right sized portion of freshly-cooked chips, plus buttered bread.’
cover, coat, layer, daub, smother

Phrases

look as if butter wouldn't melt in one's mouth

British

informal

Appear gentle or innocent while typically being the opposite.
- ‘she looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, but I think she might be as hard as nails’
- ‘At home, he's placid and gentle and happy and looks as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.’
- ‘Because, while he may often look as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, underneath the boyish appearance and the trappings of trendiness, there is a genuinely steely determination that has to be admired.’
- ‘For all they look as if butter wouldn't melt in their mouths, they're an un-Christian lot.’
- ‘He looks as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, but he angled against Kennedy and now he's doing it against Campbell.’
- ‘All sweet and coy on the surface as if butter wouldn't melt, but look a little deeper my friends; Ms. Sorisso is a minx.’

Phrasal Verbs

butter up

informal

butter someone up, butter up someoneFlatter or praise someone as a means of gaining their help or support.
- ‘don't try and butter me up in order to get privileged information’
- ‘‘Magic Valley's industrial dairies try to butter us up with sweet talk and promises,’ the ad begins, ‘but the reality is as different as milk and molasses.’’
- ‘His strategy now is to frustrate Dookeran, muzzle Yetming and see if Jack can be buttered up.’
- ‘‘See, he phones people just to say hello, but he's only buttering you up so he can ask you favours later,’ he continued.’
- ‘And if so, buttering them up in preparation for what?’
- ‘Many reporters immortalized in the Kissinger transcripts talked to the secretary without buttering him up.’
- ‘After buttering him up with a cold beer and the biggest cheeseburger in the world, he supplied me with the necessary contacts.’
- ‘Well, since you buttered me up so nicely: Okay..’
- ‘She buttered me up with some praise (which always works with me).’
- ‘Anyway she could not have been nicer and Cowan buttered her up about all her films.’
- ‘McClaren is a PR man, adept at buttering people up in the boardroom but unproven in the dressing room, where it matters most.’