# butter

/ˈbətɝ/ (US) · /bˈʌtɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/butter
Updated: 2026-04-30

## Senses

### 1. dairy product

noun · CEFR A1

a soft, yellow food made from cream that you spread on bread or use in cooking.

For teachers: a fatty foodstuff produced by churning milk or cream. Uncountable in its primary sense.

- She spread some cold butter on her toast before eating breakfast.
- The chef insisted on using unsalted butter to maintain precise control over the sodium content of the delicate pastry dough.

### 2. other food spreads

noun · CEFR B1

a soft food made from plants or nuts that looks like dairy butter.

For teachers: any of various edible spreads derived from non-dairy sources, typically nuts or seeds, sharing a similar consistency to dairy butter.

- Peanut butter is a very popular snack for children in many countries.
- The recipe calls for almond butter as a protein-rich substitute for traditional fats in the vegan brownie batter.

### 3. cosmetic fat

noun · CEFR B2 · Technical

a thick, oily substance used in skin creams to make skin soft.

For teachers: a solid or semi-solid plant-based fat used as an emollient in cosmetic and dermatological preparations.

- She applied cocoa butter to her dry skin after taking a shower.
- Shea butter is frequently incorporated into high-end moisturisers due to its high concentration of fatty acids and vitamins.

### 4. something smooth

noun · CEFR C1 · Slang

something that is very smooth, easy, or high quality.

For teachers: an object or performance characterized by extreme smoothness, ease, or aesthetic appeal.

- That new car drives like butter on the highway.
- The pilot's landing was absolute butter, touching down so gently that the passengers barely felt the wheels meet the tarmac.

### 5. to spread butter

verb · CEFR A2

to put butter on something, like bread or a baked potato.

For teachers: to apply butter to a surface. Transitive; requires a direct object.

- Could you butter the bread while I finish making the soup?
- The baker carefully buttered the individual layers of phyllo dough to ensure the finished baklava would be perfectly crisp and golden.

### 6. skiing/snowboarding trick

verb · CEFR C1 · Slang

to lean on the front or back of your skis or snowboard while moving.

For teachers: to shift one's weight onto the tips or tails of skis or a snowboard to perform a manual-style trick.

- He did a cool butter on his snowboard right before the jump.
- The athlete demonstrated impressive core strength by holding a tail butter across the entire flat section of the terrain park.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.