butter

/ˈbʌt.əɹ/

//ˈbʌt.əɹ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“butter” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,605 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,605
frequency rank, English
6
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

butter vs buyer
67% similar
butter vs butts
67% similar
butter vs button
67% similar

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

Key facts for butter
PropertyValue
Headwordbutter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbʌt.əɹ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,605
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “butter” 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). butter 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 butter is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbʌt.əɹ/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,605 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for butter, with forms such as "bbutter", "btuter", and "buter". 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, "buyer", "butts", "button", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *gʷṓws Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Hellenic *gʷous Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs) Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂-der. Proto-Hellenic *tūrós Ancient Greek τυρός (turós) Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron)bor. Latin būtȳrumbor. Proto-West G… The correct English form is butter, spelled B-U-T-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).
  2. 2
    Any of various foodstuffs made from other foods or oils, similar in consistency to, eaten like or intended as a substitute for butter (preceded by the name of the food used to make it).
  3. 3
    Any of various substances made from other (especially plant-based) oils or fats, used in moisturizers, cosmetics, etc.
  4. 4
    Any specific soft substance.
  5. 5
    Something that is smooth, impressive, or appealing. (Compare smooth as butter.)
  6. 6
    Something that is smooth, impressive, or appealing. (Compare smooth as butter.)

Etymology

PIE word *gʷṓws Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Hellenic *gʷous Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs) Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂-der. Proto-Hellenic *tūrós Ancient Greek τυρός (turós) Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron)bor. Latin būtȳrumbor. Proto-West Germanic *buterā Old English butere Middle English buter English butter From Middle English buter, butter, from Old English butere, from Proto-West Germanic *buterā, from Latin būtȳrum, from Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron, “cow cheese”), compound of βοῦς (boûs, “ox, cow”) and τῡρός (tūrós, “cheese”).

This word in other languages

mantequilla(Español)beurre(Français)Butter(Deutsch)manteiga(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbutter,btuter,buter,butetr,butterr,buttre,ubtter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of butter - 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.

bbutter1btuter2buter1butetr2butterr1buttre2ubtter2
Edit distance from "butter"

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 "butter"?
"butter" is spelled B-U-T-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbʌt.əɹ/.
What does "butter" mean?
As a noun, "butter" means: A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk).
What words are commonly confused with "butter"?
"butter" is commonly confused with "buyer", "butts", "button". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "butter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "butter" is /ˈbʌt.əɹ/. 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 "butter"?
PIE word *gʷṓws Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Hellenic *gʷous Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs) Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂-der. Proto-Hellenic *tūrós Ancient Greek τυρός (turós) Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron)bor. Latin būtȳrumbor. Pr... 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 “butter”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is B-U-T-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈbʌt.əɹ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “buyer” - see the side-by-side comparison. butter vs buyer
  • 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