butt
part of speech
noun (a butt, butts); verb (butt, butts, butted, butting)
meaning for a pupil
1) (informal, US; mildly rude) The bottom, the part you sit on. tree →
2) The thick end of a tool or gun; the end of a cigarette that is left. tree →
3) The butt of a joke: the person people laugh at. tree →
4) (verb) To hit something with your head, like a goat. tree →
5) Butt in (informal): to interrupt rudely. tree →
6) A large barrel for water or wine: a water butt (UK). tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday US talk butt is a mild word for bottom; it is said by children but not in formal writing. In science and farm stories, goats butt with their heads. In the UK, a water butt collects rainwater from the roof — a lesson on saving water. Phrases: butt in, the butt of the joke, butt heads, kick butt (slang).
examples
- He slipped and landed on his butt. tree →
- Please don't butt in when I'm talking. tree →
- The goat butted the gate. tree →
- He was always the butt of their jokes. tree →
- We use the water from the water butt for the garden. tree →
- The ground was covered in cigarette butts. tree →
- (slang) Our team is going to kick butt today! tree →
- The Bull quietly addressed him: “Butt away as much as you will. tree →
note
Do not confuse with but (a joining word): «I like it, but...». In the UK the common mild word is bum. Butt is not as rude as arse or ass, but avoid it in formal writing.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «butt» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.