butter
noun /ˈbʌtə(r)/
/ˈbʌtər/
[uncountable]Idioms - a soft yellow food made from cream, used in cooking and for spreading on bread
- Fry the onions in butter.
- a pat/knob/tablespoon of butter
- (North American English) a stick (= small pack) of butter
- Melt the butter in a small pan, add the flour and stir well.
- Do you want butter or margarine on your toast?
Extra ExamplesTopics Fooda1- Cream the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy.
- He put a large knob of butter on the potatoes.
- He spread butter on the roll.
- Put some butter on the crackers, please.
- Rub the butter into the flour.
- The butter melted in the heat.
- This butter doesn't spread very well.
- You can make frosting out of half a stick of butter and two cups of powdered sugar.
- courgettes sautéed in butter
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fresh
- creamy
- rancid
- …
- knob
- pat
- slab
- …
- put on
- spread (something with)
- heat
- …
- spread
- melt
- sauce
- dish
- knife
- …
- in butter
- bread and butter
Word OriginOld English butere, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch boter and German Butter, based on Latin butyrum, from Greek bouturon.
Idioms
butter wouldn’t melt (in somebody’s mouth)
- (informal) used to say that somebody seems to be innocent, kind, etc. when they are not really
like a knife through butter
- (informal) easily; without meeting any difficulty