plural butts
1
: buttocks
slipped and fell on his butt
—often used as a euphemism for ass in idiomatic expressionsGet your butt over here.
kick butt
saved our butts
2
: the large or thicker end part of something:
a
: the thicker or handle end of a tool or weapon
the butt of a rifle
b
food
: a marbled upper cut of the pork shoulder
called also Boston butt
c
: the base of a plant from which the roots spring
3
a
: an unused remainder (as of a cigarette or cigar)
b
slang
: cigarette
4
: the part of a hide or skin corresponding to the animal's back and sides
butted; butting; butts
: to strike or shove with the head or horns
got butted by a goat
butting their horns together
: to thrust or push headfirst : strike with the head or horns
: a blow or thrust usually with the head or horns
a head butt to the ribs
butted; butting; butts
: abut
—used with on or against
where the floorboards butt against each other
The apartment building butts up against an old church.
1
: to place end to end or side to side without overlapping
butt the boards together
2
: to trim or square off (something, such as a log) at the end
3
: to reduce (something, such as a cigarette) to an unused remainder by stubbing or stamping : to reduce to a butt (see butt entry 1 sense 3a)
1
: a large cask especially for wine, beer, or water
2
: any of various units of liquid capacity
especially
: a measure equal to 108 imperial (see imperial entry 1 sense 4) gallons (491 liters)
Synonyms
Examples of butt in a Sentence
Noun (1)
park your butts in the seats and keep quiet, or I'm turning this car around
Noun (3)
the social outcast got tired of being the butt of everyone's jokes
usually the U.S. Congress is the butt of the radio commentator's scathing wit
Verb (2)
our property butts on a swamp
Noun (4)
a butt of hard cider that we had pressed ourselves
Recent Examples on the Web
Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
The 46 year old’s divorce from Gisele Bundchen was naturally the butt of many of the more crass, NSFW jabs.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 7 May 2024
But what becomes of the women whose names remain as the butt of jokes and lives left the source of speculation long after the dust settles on rap’s war grounds?
—Rivea Ruff, Essence, 7 May 2024
The front of the piece featured a long fabric covering her nether regions, but the sheer lace fabric at the back put her butt cheeks on full display — minus the ribbon of her corset hiding a certain area.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
This year seemed to be more about the butt than the boobs for the Met Gala.
—Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY, 7 May 2024
Among the other bold-faced names in attendance were Ben Affleck, Jim Gaffigan, Amanda Kloots, Richard Kind, Chelsea Handler and Dane Cook, along with NFL pros Rob Gronkowski (who also wound up as the butt of many of the evening’s jokes), Randy Moss, Rodney Harrison, Julian, Edelman and Matt Light.
—Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 May 2024
Coat the pork butt with the dry spice rub on all sides and place on top of the onion mixture in the crockpot.
—Contributing Writer, Orange County Register, 4 May 2024
Over the years, many people have been the butt of his jokes, including his 16-year-old son Hendrix and his 19-year-old daughter Heaven.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 26 Apr. 2024
Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 8 May 2024
As protesters in the encampment, joined the crowd on Park Avenue, the street that butted up to the university and encampment, police and state troopers dressed in riot gear, along with Pima Regional SWAT pushed the crowd to the north shooting pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
—Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 1 May 2024
The United States and China butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with senior Chinese officials and warned of the dangers of misunderstandings and miscalculations.
—Matthew Lee, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2024
The couple have been butting heads because Mendeecees feels Yandy makes decisions without his input.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 10 Apr. 2024
On Monday, the government of the Philippines lodged a protest with Chinese counterparts after a dangerous escalation in the South China Sea, where China’s maritime expansionism is butting against the parallel territorial claims of its weaker neighbors.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Facebook and Netflix appeared ready to butt heads in the streaming world, and the Netflix cofounder found himself in the middle as a Facebook board member.
—Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
Her scenes with Buckley, in which the irresistible urge of Irish bonhomie butts up against the immovable object of passive-aggressive politeness and repression, are like watching musicians play off against each other’s weaving melodies and riffs.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
Musk and Bezos have publicly butted heads for over a decade, including over their years-long space race with their respective reusable rocket companies.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024
Noun
One of the robbers had repeatedly struck Towns in the head with the butt of an AK and tied him up.
—Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
The 46 year old’s divorce from Gisele Bundchen was naturally the butt of many of the more crass, NSFW jabs.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 7 May 2024
But what becomes of the women whose names remain as the butt of jokes and lives left the source of speculation long after the dust settles on rap’s war grounds?
—Rivea Ruff, Essence, 7 May 2024
The front of the piece featured a long fabric covering her nether regions, but the sheer lace fabric at the back put her butt cheeks on full display — minus the ribbon of her corset hiding a certain area.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
This year seemed to be more about the butt than the boobs for the Met Gala.
—Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY, 7 May 2024
Among the other bold-faced names in attendance were Ben Affleck, Jim Gaffigan, Amanda Kloots, Richard Kind, Chelsea Handler and Dane Cook, along with NFL pros Rob Gronkowski (who also wound up as the butt of many of the evening’s jokes), Randy Moss, Rodney Harrison, Julian, Edelman and Matt Light.
—Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 May 2024
Coat the pork butt with the dry spice rub on all sides and place on top of the onion mixture in the crockpot.
—Contributing Writer, Orange County Register, 4 May 2024
Over the years, many people have been the butt of his jokes, including his 16-year-old son Hendrix and his 19-year-old daughter Heaven.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 26 Apr. 2024
Verb
Inyo County butts up against the Nevada state line, and the city of Bishop lies east of the Sierra Nevada Crest and roughly 27 miles west of the state line as the crow flies.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 8 May 2024
As protesters in the encampment, joined the crowd on Park Avenue, the street that butted up to the university and encampment, police and state troopers dressed in riot gear, along with Pima Regional SWAT pushed the crowd to the north shooting pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
—Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 1 May 2024
The United States and China butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with senior Chinese officials and warned of the dangers of misunderstandings and miscalculations.
—Matthew Lee, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2024
The couple have been butting heads because Mendeecees feels Yandy makes decisions without his input.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 10 Apr. 2024
On Monday, the government of the Philippines lodged a protest with Chinese counterparts after a dangerous escalation in the South China Sea, where China’s maritime expansionism is butting against the parallel territorial claims of its weaker neighbors.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Facebook and Netflix appeared ready to butt heads in the streaming world, and the Netflix cofounder found himself in the middle as a Facebook board member.
—Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
Her scenes with Buckley, in which the irresistible urge of Irish bonhomie butts up against the immovable object of passive-aggressive politeness and repression, are like watching musicians play off against each other’s weaving melodies and riffs.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
Musk and Bezos have publicly butted heads for over a decade, including over their years-long space race with their respective reusable rocket companies.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'butt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near butt
Cite this Entry
“Butt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/butt. Accessed 15 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
butt
1 of 4 verb
: to strike or thrust with the head or horns
butt
2 of 4 noun
: a blow or thrust with the head or horns
butt
3 of 4 noun
: a person who is treated badly or is made fun of
the butt of a joke
butt
4 of 4 noun1
: buttock sense 2a
—often used in idiomatic expressions
saved our butts
get your butt over here
2
: the thicker or bottom end of something
the butt of a rifle
3
: an unused remainder
a cigarette butt
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