1 C1 neutral
To spread and smooth butter evenly over a surface.
"Butter out the baking tin carefully so the cake doesn't stick to the edges."
separable
butter out
C1 neutral separable transitive
To spread butter evenly over a surface, smoothing it out; a rare and marginal cooking term.
In plain English
To spread butter evenly over something until it's smooth.
What does "butter out" mean?
One main meaning — here's how to use it.
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To spread (spread out) butter across something.
Actually means
To spread butter evenly over something until it's smooth.
Usage tip
Extremely rare. Not a well-established phrasal verb in standard English. Speakers would normally say 'spread the butter' or 'butter the pan'. Learners should be aware of this but are unlikely to encounter it.
Words that pair with "butter out"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
pan surface dough pastry tin
How to conjugate "butter out"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
butter out
I/you/we/they
3rd person
butters out
he/she/it
Past simple
buttered out
yesterday
Past participle
buttered out
have + pp
-ing form
buttering out
continuous
Hear "butter out" in the wild
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Other ways to say "butter out"
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