butt

butt — noun

1. the small stub left over after someone has smoked a cigarette down to the filter

1.nounB2
Definition

the small stub left over after someone has smoked a cigarette down to the filter, usually thrown away or stamped out.

Example

Maya bent down and picked up a dozen cigarette butts from the beach.

collocation: cigarette butt

The ashtray on Carlos's desk was overflowing with old butts.

Common collocations
  • cigarette butt
  • stub out a butt
  • pile of butts
  • throw away a butt
Synonyms
  • stub

    near-equivalent; slightly more formal in writing

  • end

    very general; needs 'cigarette' for clarity

  • fag end

    British informal slang for the same thing

Grammar Patterns

cigarette butt

Usage Note

Almost always countable and concrete; the fuller phrase 'cigarette butt' is more common in writing, while 'butt' alone is fine in speech once context is clear.

Common Mistakes

I lit a butt and inhaled.
I lit a cigarette and inhaled.
a butt is the leftover end after smoking, not the whole cigarette.

2. an informal word for the soft part of the body that a person sits on, often used

2.nounC1
Definition

an informal word for the soft part of the body that a person sits on, often used in casual speech, jokes, or sayings.

Example

Marcus slipped on the wet floor and landed hard on his butt.

informal register: everyday speech

Lina yelled at the kids to get off their butts and help with the dishes.

idiomatic: 'get off your butt'

Common collocations
  • pain in the butt
  • kick someone's butt
  • get off your butt
  • butt cheek
Synonyms
  • bottom

    neutral and acceptable in most situations

  • buttocks

    formal or anatomical term

  • behind

    informal but gentler than 'butt'

Usage Note

Mainly American informal; in formal writing or polite conversation use 'bottom' or 'buttocks'. Frequently appears in fixed expressions such as 'kick someone's butt', 'get off your butt', and 'pain in the butt'.

Common Mistakes

The doctor examined my butt during the check-up.
The doctor examined my buttocks during the check-up.
'butt' is too casual for medical or formal contexts.

3. the wide, heavy rear part of a long firearm such as a rifle or shotgun, made to

3.nounC1
Definition

the wide, heavy rear part of a long firearm such as a rifle or shotgun, made to be pressed against the shoulder while shooting.

Example

The soldier braced the butt of his rifle firmly against his right shoulder.

pattern: the butt of [a/his/the] rifle

A guard struck the prisoner across the back with the butt of his weapon.

collocation: with the butt of

Common collocations
  • butt of a rifle
  • wooden butt
  • rifle butt
  • strike with the butt
Synonyms
  • stock

    the standard technical term for the wooden or plastic shoulder piece of a rifle

  • shoulder stock

    more specific; emphasises the part placed against the shoulder

Antonyms
  • muzzle

    the opposite end, where the bullet leaves the gun

  • barrel

    the long tube, contrasted with the wide rear end

Grammar Patterns

the butt of a rifle/gun

Usage Note

Almost always followed by 'of' plus a long firearm (rifle, shotgun, musket). Distinct from 'barrel' (the long tube the bullet travels through) and 'grip' (the part the hand wraps around on a pistol).

Common Mistakes

He held the pistol by the butt.
He held the pistol by the grip.
small handguns have a 'grip', not a 'butt'.

4. someone who other people repeatedly tease, mock, or laugh at, often in a way tha

4.nounC1
Definition

someone who other people repeatedly tease, mock, or laugh at, often in a way that feels unfair or hurtful.

Example

Quiet new students sometimes become the butt of every classroom joke.

fixed pattern: the butt of [every] joke

Mr Patel was tired of being the butt of his colleagues' lazy jokes about his accent.

Common collocations
  • butt of jokes
  • butt of ridicule
  • butt of humour
  • become the butt of
Synonyms
  • target

    wider scope; can apply to attacks or campaigns, not just jokes

  • victim

    stronger; suggests real harm, not just teasing

  • laughingstock

    stronger; means widely mocked rather than mocked by one group

Grammar Patterns

the butt of [jokes/ridicule/criticism]

Usage Note

Strongly fixed in the pattern 'the butt of + (jokes / ridicule / humour / criticism)'. Almost always preceded by 'the' and used with 'be' or 'become'. Implies the person is unwilling or undeserving of the mockery.

Common Mistakes

He is a butt of jokes.
He is the butt of jokes.
this sense almost always takes the definite article 'the'.

5. a very large wooden barrel, traditionally used for storing wine, beer, or rainwa

5.nounC2
Definition

a very large wooden barrel, traditionally used for storing wine, beer, or rainwater on farms and in old breweries.

Example

Two oak butts of sherry stood at the back of the cool stone cellar.

collocation: butt of sherry/wine

The old farmhouse still has a rain butt under the kitchen drainpipe.

British compound: rain butt

Common collocations
  • wine butt
  • water butt
  • rain butt
  • empty butt
Synonyms
  • cask

    more general; any sealed wooden container for liquid

  • barrel

    everyday word; usually smaller than a butt

  • hogshead

    specific historical size, smaller than a butt

Usage Note

Mostly historical or specialist (wine trade, brewing, gardening). The compound 'water butt' / 'rain butt' is still everyday British English for a garden water container.

Common Mistakes

I bought a small butt of wine for the party.
I bought a small barrel of wine for the party.
a 'butt' is specifically a very large cask, not any wooden container.

butt — verb

Word family

  • buttocks
    nounC1
  • headbutt
    verbC1
  • headbutt
    nounC1
  • abut
    verbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

All five words refer to the part of the body a person sits on, but they differ sharply in register. 'Buttocks' is the formal, anatomical term used in medicine, fitness, and clothing manufacture; it sounds clinical in casual speech. 'Bottom' is the safe, neutral choice for everyday conversation, suitable for talking to children or in mixed company. 'Behind' and 'rear' are gentle, slightly old-fashioned euphemisms; both feel polite but mildly humorous. 'Butt' is American informal and the most direct of the five; it can sound rude in front of strangers or older relatives, but is fine among friends and appears in common phrases like 'kick someone's butt' and 'pain in the butt'. For example, a doctor would say 'I need to examine your buttocks', a parent would say 'sit on your bottom', and a teenager would say 'I fell on my butt'.

butt ↗bottom ↗buttocksbehind ↗rear ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cigarette butt
  • rifle butt
  • water butt
  • butt of a joke

Phrases

  • pain in the butt
  • kick someone's butt
  • get off your butt
  • the butt of every joke

Prepositions

  • the butt of (jokes/ridicule)
  • butt against
  • butt with (horns)

Etymology

Old EnglishOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

Modern 'butt' is really three older words that fell together by accident. The 'thick end' meaning (of a rifle, cigarette, or tree trunk) goes back to a Middle English word for a stub or short, blunt thing, related to the modern verb 'to abut' (touch end to end). The 'large barrel' meaning came separately from Old French 'bot' or 'boute', a wine cask. The 'target of jokes' sense grew from an old archery word meaning a mound used as a shooting target. The body-part sense, finally, is short for 'buttock', an Old English word that has nothing to do with the others. Modern English speakers feel them all as one word, but historically they were four.