butt

BUT/bʌt/

Pluralbutts

Verbbutts, butting, butted

30 meanings of butt

Practice

1
bottom (body)nouncolloquialcountable
An informal word for the part of your body you sit on.
Get off your butt and help me clean up the kitchen.
He fell right on his butt on the icy steps.
UsageBottom is more polite; butt is casual.
Similarbottom, backside, behind, rear, bum
2
cigarette endnouncountable
The end of a cigarette or cigar left after smoking it, or any leftover end of something.
She crushed her cigarette butt in the ashtray.
The sidewalk outside the bar was littered with old butts.
UsageSay cigarette butt.
Similarstub, end
Note
3
rifle endnouncountable
The thick back end of a gun, opposite the end the bullet comes out of.
He rested the butt of the rifle against his shoulder.
The soldier broke the lock with the butt of his gun.
Similarstock
Oppositemuzzle
Note
4
nouncolloquialmetonymicallycountable
A person's whole self, named in a joking, casual way.
You'd better get your butt to school on time tomorrow.
I dragged my butt out of bed at dawn for the early shift.
UsageGet your butt over here means come here now.
Similarbackside, carcass, behind
5
target of jokesnouncountable
A person that others make fun of.
He was always the butt of his classmates' jokes.
Nobody enjoys being the butt of every prank at work.
UsageSay the butt of the joke.
Similartarget, object, victim, laughingstock
Note
6
hit with headverbtransitive
To hit something hard, usually with the head.
Like pushing something hard with your head the way a goat does.
The goat tried to butt the new puppy in the yard.
He butted the punching bag with his forehead.
UsageButt heads means argue.
Similarram, bunt, bump, charge
Note
7
thick endnouncountable
The thick or blunt end of something, like a tool or a fishing rod.
Hold the pool cue near its butt and aim with the thin end.
The guard stood the butt of his spear on the ground.
Similarbase, end
Oppositetip, top
Note
8
touch end to endverbintransitive
To meet or touch end to end with something right next to it.
Like two puzzle pieces meeting edge to edge.
The two fields butt against each other along the river.
Our property butts onto the national forest.
UsageSay butts against or butts onto.
Similarabut, adjoin, border, join, meet
Note
9
pork shouldernouncountable
A cut of meat from the upper shoulder of an animal, especially a pig.
She slow-cooked a pork butt for the family dinner.
The recipe calls for a three-pound butt.
Note
10
end jointnouncountable
A place where the ends of two pieces of wood or metal are joined flat against each other.
The corners of this cheap bookcase are just butt joints and glue.
A butt joint is easy to cut but not very strong.
Note
11
nouncountable
A push or hit made with the head.
The goat gave the fence a hard butt and knocked it loose.
One butt from the ram sent the bucket flying.
Similarblow, thrust, push, bump, bunt
Note

Less common meanings

12
bread endnounUScountable
The hard end slice of a loaf of bread.
Nobody in the family wanted the butt of the loaf.
She used the bread butt to soak up the last of the soup.
Similarheel
Note
13
wine casknouncountable
A very large barrel for wine, beer or rainwater, or an old measure of liquid, about 477 liters for wine.
Like a giant barrel large enough to hold over a hundred buckets of liquid.
They rolled a heavy butt of wine into the cellar.
Each of these oak butts holds over a hundred gallons of wine.
Note
14
door hingenouncountable
A type of door hinge fixed to the inner edge of a door.
Like the small metal pieces that let a cupboard door open and shut.
We put new butt hinges on the squeaky bedroom door.
When the door is shut, you can barely see the butt hinges.
Note
15
cut in lineverbdialectalCanadaEasterntransitive or intransitive
To push into a line in front of people who were already waiting.
Hey, don't butt me. I was standing here first!
He tried to butt ahead of everyone at the door.
Similarcut
Note
16
shooting targetnouncountable
A target that people aim at when shooting.
Like the round board you throw darts at, but for arrows.
The archers lined up and aimed their arrows at the butt.
The young archer sent her first arrow into the straw butt.
Similartarget, mark
Note
17
wind directionnoundatedcountable
The direction the wind is coming from.
Similareye
Note
18
nouncolloquialWales
A friend or buddy.
19
noundialectalNorthern England
A flat fish such as a sole, plaice, or turbot.
20
noun
The part of a hose connector that is joined to the hose's end.
21
noun
The end of a connecting rod where other parts are attached.
22
noun
The thickest, strongest part of a tanned animal hide, used for shoe soles.
23
noun
A push or thrust made with a sword in fencing.
To prove who gave the fairer butt, / John shows the chalk on Robert's coat.
1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind”Here, butt means a push or thrust made with a sword in fencing.
24
nounobsolete
The farthest point or end that something reaches.
Here is my journey's end, here is my butt / And very sea-mark of my utmost sail.
c. 1603, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”Here, butt means the farthest point or end of a journey.
25
noun
The small shelter where a worker watches the targets during rifle practice.
26
noun
A strip of land left unplowed at the edge of a field.
27
nounobsoleteWest Country
A thick cushion to kneel on.
28
noun
A rubber or plastic plug for the bottom of a lacrosse handle that helps prevent injuries.
29
noundatedIrelandWest Country
A strong farm cart with two wheels.
30
noundatedIrelandWest Country
A small cart like a wheelbarrow but with three wheels.

More uses

butt into interrupt or get involved when you are not wanted

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of butt apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–5, 7–8, 10, 12, 14, 16–17

From an old English word meaning a small piece of land or an end, later a goal or target. It goes back through Germanic, perhaps to a very old root meaning 'bottom'.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

The word derives from Old English forms meaning a small piece of land or an end. en.wiktionary.org
The later Middle English forms had meanings including goal or target. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry runs through Germanic, with a proposed earlier ancestor meaning bottom. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 6, 11, 15

From an old word meaning 'to push, strike, or beat'. It came into English through French from a Germanic word for hitting.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

Butt derives from an older word meaning 'to push, strike, or beat'. en.wiktionary.org
The word entered English through French from a Germanic word for hitting. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 13

From an old word for a leather bottle or cask, from Latin.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

The word derives from an earlier word for a leather bottle or cask. en.wiktionary.org
The earlier container word ultimately derives from Latin. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 9

Named either because this cut of meat, apparently once less desired, was often packed in casks ('butts') for storage, or from 'butt' meaning the thicker or waste end of something.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

The cut was apparently once less desired. en.wiktionary.org
One proposed origin connects the name with packing the cut in casks called butts for storage. en.wikipedia.org
An alternative proposed origin connects the name with butt meaning the thicker or waste end. en.wiktionary.org