Home UK English butter

Meaning of butter in English:

butter

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
    informal

    • Appear gentle or innocent while typically being the opposite.

      • ‘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 someone up
    informal

    • Flatter or otherwise ingratiate oneself with someone.

      • ‘‘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.’

Origin

Old English butere, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch boter and German Butter, based on Latin butyrum, from Greek bouturon.

Pronunciation

butter

/ˈbʌtə/