buts

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of but.

   He agreed to the plan with no ifs, ands, or buts.

   The proposal was solid, but the committee raised a string of buts before approving it.

   Note

   A conjunction turned into a countable noun takes the ordinary -s ending: each but is one objection or caveat, so a run of buts is a run of reservations. The same spelling also serves rarer nouns, such as the outer rooms of small two-room Scottish cottages or the blunt, thicker ends of things. It is shared, too, with the verb form.

2. 2
   verbarchaic

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of but.

   Note

   The verb behind this form is archaic: to but is simply to say "but", to put in an objection. Its regular -s ending makes it identical to the noun plural, so only the sentence tells them apart. After a singular subject it is the verb (she buts at every turn). After an article or a number it is the plural of the objection noun.

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