English

Pronunciation

• bŭt, /bʌt/, /bVt/

  Homophones: but

  Rhymes: -ʌt

Noun

butt (plural butts)

1. A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end.

   Quotations

   • 1604: Here is my journey's end, here is my butt And very sea-mark of my utmost sail. — William Shakespeare, Othello, Act V, Scene II, line 267.

2. The larger or thicker end of anything; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp end; as, the butt of a rifle. Formerly also spelled but.
3. A mark to be shot at; a target.

   Quotations

   • 1598: To which is fixed, as an aim or butt... — William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act I, Scene II, line 186.
   • 1786: The inhabitants of all cities and towns were ordered to make butts, and to keep them in repair, under a penalty of twenty shillings per month, and to exercise themselves in shooting at them on holidays. — Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 37.

4. A person at whom ridicule, jest, or contempt is directed; as, the butt of the company.
5. A push, thrust, or sudden blow, given by the head of an animal; as, the butt of a ram.
6. A thrust in fencing.
7. A piece of land left unplowed at the end of a field.
8. (Mechanical) A joint where the ends of two objects come squarely together without scarfing or chamfering ; -- also called butt joint.
9. The end of a connecting rod or other like piece, to which the boxing is attached by the strap, cotter , and gib.
10. The portion of a half-coupling fastened to the end of a hose .
11. (Shipbuilding) The joint where two planks in a strake meet.
12. (Carpentry) A kind of hinge used in hanging doors, etc.; -- so named because fastened on the edge of the door, which butts against the casing, instead of on its face, like the strap hinge; also called butt hinge.
13. (Leather Trade) The thickest and stoutest part of tanned oxhides , used for soles of boots, harness, trunks.
14. The hut or shelter of the person who attends to the targets in rifle practice.
15. (Slang) The buttocks; as, get up off your butt and get to work; -- used as a euphemism, less objectionable than ass.
16. (English units)An English measure of capacity for liquids, containing 126 wine gallons; equivalent to the pipe.

    Quotations

    • 1882: Again, by 28 Hen. VIII, cap. 14, it is re-enacted that the tun of wine should contain 252 gallons, a butt of Malmsey 126 gallons, a pipe 126 gallons, a tercian or puncheon 84 gallons, a hogshead 63 gallons, a tierce 41 gallons, a barrel 31.5 gallons, a rundlet 18.5 gallons. — James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, p. 205.

17. A wooden cask for storing wine, usually containing 126 gallons.

    Quotations

    • 1611: ...I escap'd upon a butt of sack which the sailors heav'd o'erboard ... — William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act II, Scene II, line 121.

Related Terms

• butthead
• sackbutt

Translation

• French: cul

Verb

to butt

1. To strike bluntly, particularly with the head.

Related Terms

• butt heads with
• butt in
• buttinsky
• headbutt

==

Noun

Butt

1. flatfish

Derived terms

1. Heilbutt