butt in

verb

"butt-in" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“butt in” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To join a conversation or situation in which one is not welcome or invited; to interject (connotes a rude or discourteous interruption).

Corpus desk

Index EN-butt-in · butt in · English

butt in · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for butt in
PropertyValue
Headwordbutt in
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “butt in” in English

butt inranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

butt in is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for butt in, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is butt in, spelled B-U-T-T- -I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To join a conversation or situation in which one is not welcome or invited; to interject (connotes a rude or discourteous interruption).
  2. 2
    To join a queue not at the end, but in the middle.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how butt in appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Hey, this is none of your business; don’t butt in!
  2. Forgive me for butting in.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "butt in"?
"butt in" is spelled B-U-T-T- -I-N.
What does "butt in" mean?
As a verb, "butt in" means: To join a conversation or situation in which one is not welcome or invited; to interject (connotes a rude or discourteous interruption).
What language does "butt in" come from?
"butt in" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list