butt1

[buht] /bʌt/
noun
1.
the end or extremity of anything, especially 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 Middle English bott (thick) end, buttock, Old English butt tree stump (in place names); akin to Swedish but stump, Danish but stubby; cf. buttock

butt2

[buht] /bʌt/
noun
1.
a person or thing that is an object of wit, ridicule, sarcasm, contempt, etc.
2.
a target.
3.
  1. a wall of earth located behind the targets to prevent bullets from scattering over a large area.
  2. 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; Middle English < Middle French but target, goal, probably ≪ Old Norse bútr butt1, 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.

butt3

[buht] /bʌt/
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; Middle English butten < Anglo-French buter, Old French boter to thrust, strike < Germanic; compare Middle Dutch botten to strike, sprout

butt4

[buht] /bʌt/
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; Middle English bote < Anglo-French bo(u)t(e); Middle French < Old Provençal bota < Late Latin butta, buttis, akin to Greek boût(t)is

butt5

[buht] /bʌt/
1.
any of several flatfishes, especially the halibut.
Also, but.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English butte; cognate with Sw butta turbot, German Butt brill, turbot, flounder, Dutch bot flounder
British Dictionary definitions for butt

butt1

/bʌt/
noun
1.
the thicker or blunt end of something, such as the end of the stock of a rifle
2.
the unused end of something, esp of a cigarette; stub
3.
(tanning) the portion of a hide covering the lower backside of the animal
4.
(US & Canadian, informal) the buttocks
5.
(US) a slang word for cigarette
6.
(building trades) short for butt joint, butt hinge
Word Origin
C15 (in the sense: thick end of something, buttock): related to Old English buttuc end, ridge, Middle Dutch bot stumpy

butt2

/bʌt/
noun
1.
a person or thing that is the target of ridicule, wit, etc
2.
(shooting, archery)
  1. a mound of earth behind the target on a target range that stops bullets or wide shots
  2. the target itself
  3. (pl) the target range
3.
a low barrier, usually of sods or peat, behind which sportsmen shoot game birds, esp grouse
4.
(archaic) goal; aim
verb
5.
usually foll by on or against. to lie or be placed end on to; abut: to butt a beam against a wall
Word Origin
C14 (in the sense: mark for archery practice): from Old French but; related to French butte knoll, target

butt3

/bʌt/
verb
1.
to strike or push (something) with the head or horns
2.
(intransitive) to project; jut
3.
(intransitive; foll by in or into) to intrude, esp into a conversation; interfere; meddle
4.
(informal, mainly US & Canadian) butt out, to stop interfering or meddling
noun
5.
a blow with the head or horns
Derived Forms
butter, noun
Word Origin
C12: from Old French boter, of Germanic origin; compare Middle Dutch botten to strike; see beat, button

butt4

/bʌt/
noun
1.
a large cask, esp one with a capacity of two hogsheads, for storing wine or beer
2.
a US unit of liquid measure equal to 126 US gallons
Word Origin
C14: from Old French botte, from Old Provençal bota, from Late Latin buttis cask, perhaps from Greek butinē chamber pot

Butt

/bʌt/
noun
1.
Dame Clara. 1872–1936, English contralto
Word Origin and History for butt
n.

"thick end," c.1400, butte, which probably is related to Middle Dutch and Dutch bot, Low German butt "blunt, dull," Old Norse bauta (see beat (v.)). Or related somehow to Old English buttuc "end, small piece of land," and Old Norse butr "short." In sense of "human posterior" it is recorded from mid-15c. Meaning "remainder of a smoked cigarette" first recorded 1847.

"liquor barrel," late 14c., from Anglo-French but and Old French bot "barrel, wineskin" (14c., Modern French botte), from Late Latin buttis "cask" (see bottle (n.)). Cognate with Spanish and Portuguese bota, Italian botte. Usually a cask holding 108 to 140 gallons, or roughly two hogsheads, but the measure varied greatly.

"target of a joke," 1610s, originally "target for shooting practice" (mid-14c.), from Old French but "aim, goal, end, target (of an arrow, etc.)," 13c., which seems to be a fusion of Old French words for "end" (bout) and "aim, goal" (but), both ultimately from Germanic. The latter is from Frankish *but "stump, stock, block," or some other Germanic source (cf. Old Norse butr "log of wood"), which would connect it with butt (n.1).

"flat fish," c.1300, a general Germanic name applied to various kinds of flat fishes; cf. Old Swedish but "flatfish," German Butte, Dutch bot, perhaps ultimately related to butt (n.1). "Hence butt-woman, who sells these, a fish-wife." [OED]

v.

"hit with the head," c.1200, from Anglo-French buter, from Old French boter "to push, shove, knock; to thrust against," from Frankish or another Germanic source (cf. Old Norse bauta, Low German boten "to strike, beat"), from Proto-Germanic *butan, from PIE root *bhau- "to strike" (see batter (v.)). Related: Butted; butting. To butt in "rudely intrude" is American English, attested from 1900.

Slang definitions & phrases for butt

butt

adjective

Bad; undesirable (1990s+ Students)

adverb

Very; extremely; stone: That furniture is butt ugly (1980s+ Students)

noun
  1. The buttocks; rump; ass •This sense is attested as western US in 1860. Oddly enough, butt looks like a diminutive of buttock, but to judge by the suffix, the opposite must be the case.: So drunk he couldn't find his butt with both hands (1450+)
  2. The remainder of a smoked cigarette or cigar (1930s+)
  3. A cigarette: a pack of butts (1900+)
  4. The final year of a prison sentence or a term of military enlistment (1915+ Armed forces & prison)
  5. Something or someone disliked •Somewhat derogatory: woman is a real butt
Related Terms

duck-butt, dusty butt, get off one's ass, good butt, goofy-butt, gripe one's ass, no skin off my ass, scuttlebutt