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butt

 - 15 dictionary results

butt

1  [buht]
Use butt in a Sentence
–noun
1. the end or extremity of anything, esp. the thicker, larger, or blunt end considered as a bottom, base, support, or handle, as of a log, fishing rod, or pistol.
2. an end that is not used or consumed; remnant: a cigar butt.
3. a lean cut of pork shoulder.
4. Slang. the buttocks.
5. Slang. a cigarette.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME bott (thick) end, buttock, OE butt tree stump (in place names); akin to Sw but stump, Dan but stubby; cf. buttock

butt

2  [buht]
–noun
1. a person or thing that is an object of wit, ridicule, sarcasm, contempt, etc.
2. a target.
3. (on a rifle range)
a. a wall of earth located behind the targets to prevent bullets from scattering over a large area.
b. butts, a wall behind which targets can be safely lowered, scored, and raised during firing practice.
4. butt hinge.
5. Obsolete. a goal; limit.
–verb (used without object)
6. to have an end or projection on; be adjacent to; abut.
–verb (used with object)
7. to position or fasten an end (of something).
8. to place or join the ends (of two things) together; set end-to-end.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < MF but target, goal, prob. ≪ ON bútr butt 1 , from the use of a wooden block or stump as a target in archery, etc.

Synonyms:
1. victim, target, mark, dupe, gull, laughingstock, prey, pigeon, patsy.

butt

3  [buht]
–verb (used with object)
1. to strike or push with the head or horns.
–verb (used without object)
2. to strike or push something or at something with the head or horns.
3. to project.
4. Machinery. (of wheels in a gear train) to strike one another instead of meshing.
–noun
5. a push or blow with the head or horns.
—Verb phrases
6. butt in, to meddle in the affairs or intrude in the conversation of others; interfere: It was none of his concern, so he didn't butt in.
7. butt out, to stop meddling in the affairs or intruding in the conversation of others: Nobody asked her opinion, so she butted out.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME butten < AF buter, OF boter to thrust, strike < Gmc; cf. MD botten to strike, sprout

butt

4  [buht]
–noun
1. a large cask for wine, beer, or ale.
2. any cask or barrel.
3. any of various units of capacity, usually considered equal to two hogsheads.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME bote < AF bo(u)t(e); MF < OPr bota < LL butta, buttis, akin to Gk boût(t)is

butt

5  [buht]
any of several flatfishes, esp. the halibut.
Also, but.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME butte; c. Sw butta turbot, G Butt brill, turbot, flounder, D bot flounder
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To butt
butt 1   (bŭt)   
v.   butt·ed, butt·ing, butts

v.   tr.
To hit or push against with the head or horns; ram.
v.   intr.

  1. To hit or push something with the head or horns.

  2. To project forward or out.

n.  A push or blow with the head or horns.
Phrasal Verb(s):
butt inTo interfere or meddle in other people's affairs.
butt out Slang

  1. To leave someone alone.

  2. To leave; depart.


[Middle English butten, from Old French bouter, to strike, of Germanic origin; see bhau- in Indo-European roots.]
butt'er n.
butt 2   (bŭt)   
tr. & intr.v.   butt·ed, butt·ing, butts
To join or be joined end to end; abut.
n.  

  1. A butt joint.

  2. A butt hinge.


[Middle English butten, from Anglo-Norman butter (variant of Old French bouter; see butt1) and from but, end; see butt4.]
butt 3   (bŭt)   
n.  

  1. One that serves as an object of ridicule or contempt: I was the butt of their jokes.

    1. A target, as in archery or riflery.

    2. butts A target range.

    3. An obstacle behind a target for stopping the shot.

    4. Archaic A goal.

    5. Obsolete A bound; a limit.

  3. An embankment or hollow used as a blind by hunters of wildfowl.

    1. Archaic A goal.

    2. Obsolete A bound; a limit.


[Middle English butte, target, from Old French, from but, goal, end, target; see butt4.]
butt 4   (bŭt)   
n.  

  1. The larger or thicker end of an object: the butt of a rifle.

    1. An unburned end, as of a cigarette.

    2. Informal A cigarette.

  3. A short or broken remnant; a stub.

  4. Informal The buttocks; the rear end.


[Middle English butte, from Old French but, end, of Germanic origin.]
butt 5   (bŭt)   
n.  

  1. A large cask.

  2. A unit of volume equal to two hogsheads, usually the equivalent of 126 U.S. gallons (about 477 liters).


[Middle English, from Old French boute, from Late Latin *buttia, variant of buttis.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
butt [bət]

  1. n.
    the buttocks. (Colloquial. Potentially offensive, although heard almost everywhere. See the complete list of all entries with butt in the Index of Hidden Key Words.) : She fell right on her butt.
  2. n.
    a cigarette butt. : Don't leave your butts in the houseplants!
  3. n.
    a cigarette of any kind. : You got a butt I can bum?
  4. n.
    someone or something that is disliked. (Rude and derogatory. See also boody.) : The guy's a real butt. A real squid.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

butt  (n.1)
"thick end," O.E. buttuc "end, small piece of land," akin to O.N. butr "short." In sense of "human posterior" it is recorded from 1450. Meaning "remainder of a smoked cigarette" first recorded 1847.

butt  (n.2)
"barrel," 1385, from Anglo-Norm. but and O.Fr. bot/bout, from L.L. buttis "cask," probably from Gk. (see bottle). Usually a cask holding 108 to 140 gallons, or roughly two hogsheads, but the measure varied greatly.

butt  (n.3)
"target of a joke," 1616, originally "target for shooting practice" (1345), from O.Fr. but "aim, goal, end," perhaps from butte "mound, knoll," from Frank. *but (cf. O.N. butr "long of wood"), which would connect it with butt (n.1).

butt  (v.)
"hit with the head," c.1200, from Anglo-Norm. buter, from O.Fr. boter "to thrust against," from V.L. *bottare "thrust," or from Frankish (cf. O.N. bauta, Low Ger. boten "to strike, beat"), from P.Gmc. *butan, from PIE base *bhau- "to strike" (see batter (v.)). To butt in "rudely intrude" is Amer.Eng., 1900.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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