bread and butter
Use Bread and butter in a sentencebread and butter
noun
1.
bread spread with butter.
2.
a basic means of support; source of livelihood; sustenance: The automobile industry is the bread and butter of many Detroiters.
Origin:
1620–30
1620–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged
nˈbʌt adjective
1.
providing a livelihood or basic source of income; supplying the basic needs of life: a bread-and-butter job; the agency's bread-and-butter account.
2.
of or pertaining to basic needs: housing and other bread-and-butter political issues.
3.
basic or everyday; staple; routine.
4.
expressing thanks for hospitality: a bread-and-butter letter.
Origin:
1720–30; adj. use of noun phrase bread and butter
1720–30; adj. use of noun phrase bread and butter
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To bread and butter
00:10
Bread and butter
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
| bread and butter | |
| —n | |
| 1. | (modifier) a means of support or subsistence; livelihood: the inheritance was their bread and butter |
| 2. | bread-and-butter |
| a. providing a basic means of subsistence: a bread-and-butter job | |
| b. solid, reliable, or practical: a bread-and-butter player | |
| c. expressing gratitude, as for hospitality (esp in the phrase bread-and-butter letter) | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
bread and butter definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
bread and butter
-
The essential, sustaining element, as in The quality of the schools is the bread and butter of town property values. This idiom alludes to a basic food, bread spread with butter. [c. 1700]
-
Means of livelihood, as in John's job is the family's bread and butter. [First half of 1700s]
-
Ordinary, routine, as in Don't worry about it; this is just a bread and butter assignment. [Second half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Since that time, doing research has been my daily bread and butter.
Exchanges, for whom this sort of thing is bread and butter, spy an opportunity too.
As soon as the hymn was finished, the daughters of the house brought in tea and bread and butter.
They took away the business that was the bread and butter to video stores.
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