butt

/bʌt/

//bʌt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"butt" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“butt” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,430 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,430
frequency rank, English
4
letters
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

butt vs buy
50% similar
butt vs buzz
50% similar
butt vs buys
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for butt
PropertyValue
Headwordbutt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bʌt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,430
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “butt” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). butt lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for butt is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bʌt/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,430 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 22 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for butt, with forms such as "bbutt", "btut", and "ubtt". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "buy", "buzz", "buys", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English but, butte (“goal, mark, butt of land”), from Old English byt, bytt (“small piece of land”) and *butt (attested in diminutive Old English buttuc (“end, small piece of land”) > English buttock), from Proto-West Germanic *butt, from Proto-… The correct English form is butt, spelled B-U-T-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end
  2. 2
    The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end
  3. 3
    The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end
  4. 4
    The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end
  5. 5
    The waste end of anything.
  6. 6
    The waste end of anything.
  7. 7
    The waste end of anything.
  8. 8
    The waste end of anything.
  9. 9
    An end of something, often distinguished in some way from the other end.
  10. 10
    An end of something, often distinguished in some way from the other end.
  11. 11
    An end of something, often distinguished in some way from the other end.
  12. 12
    An end of something, often distinguished in some way from the other end.
  13. 13
    An end of something, often distinguished in some way from the other end.
  14. 14
    An end of something, often distinguished in some way from the other end.
  15. 15
    An end of something, often distinguished in some way from the other end.
  16. 16
    An end of something, often distinguished in some way from the other end.
  17. 17
    An end of something, often distinguished in some way from the other end.
  18. 18
    A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end.
  19. 19
    A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end.
  20. 20
    A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end.
  21. 21
    A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end.
  22. 22
    A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end.

Etymology

From Middle English but, butte (“goal, mark, butt of land”), from Old English byt, bytt (“small piece of land”) and *butt (attested in diminutive Old English buttuc (“end, small piece of land”) > English buttock), from Proto-West Germanic *butt, from Proto-Germanic *buttaz (“end, piece”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰnós (“bottom”), later thematic variant of Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn ~ *bʰudʰn-, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”). Cognate with Norwegian butt (“stump, block”), Icelandic bútur (“piece, fragment”), Low German butt (“blunt, clumsy”). Influenced by Old French but, butte (“but, mark”), ultimately from the same Germanic source. Compare also Albanian bythë (“buttocks”), Ancient Greek πυθμήν (puthmḗn, “bottom of vessel”), Latin fundus (“bottom”) and Sanskrit बुध्न (budhná, “bottom”), from the same Proto-Indo-European root. Related to bottom, boot. PIE word *bʰudʰmḗn

This word in other languages

culo(Español)crosse(Français)Kolben(Deutsch)cu(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbutt,btut,ubtt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of butt - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbutt1btut2ubtt2
Edit distance from "butt"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "butt"?
"butt" is spelled B-U-T-T. The IPA pronunciation is /bʌt/.
What does "butt" mean?
As a noun, "butt" means: The larger or thicker end of something; the blunt end, in distinction from the sharp or narrow end
What words are commonly confused with "butt"?
"butt" is commonly confused with "buy", "buzz", "buys". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "butt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "butt" is /bʌt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "butt"?
From Middle English but, butte (“goal, mark, butt of land”), from Old English byt, bytt (“small piece of land”) and *butt (attested in diminutive Old English buttuc (“end, small piece of land”) > English buttock), from Proto-West Germanic *butt, f... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “butt”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-U-T-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /bʌt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “buy” - see the side-by-side comparison. butt vs buy
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list