butt¹ / bət/ • v. [tr.] (of a person or animal) hit (someone or something) with the head or horns: she butted him in the chest with her head. ∎  strike (the head) against something: he butts his head against a wall.• n. a push or blow, typically given with the head: he would follow up with a butt from his head.PHRASES: butt heads engage in conflict or be in strong disagreement: the residents continue to butt heads with the mall developers.PHRASAL VERBS: butt in take part in a conversation or activity, or enter somewhere, without being invited or expected: sorry to butt in on you.butt out inf. stop interfering: anyone who tries to cut across our policies should butt out.butt² • n. the person or thing at which criticism or humor, typically unkind, is directed: his singing is the butt of dozens of jokes. ∎  (usu. butts) an archery or shooting target or range.butt³ • n. 1. (also butt end) the thicker end, esp. of a tool or a weapon: a rifle butt. ∎  the square end of a plank or plate meeting the end or side of another, as in the side of a ship.2. (also butt end) the stub of a cigar or a cigarette: the ashtray was crammed with cigarette butts.3. inf. the buttocks.4. the trunk of a tree, esp. the part just above the ground.• v. [intr.] adjoin or meet end to end: the church butted up against the row of houses. ∎  [tr.] join (pieces of stone, lumber, and other building materials) with the ends or sides flat against each other: the floorboards will be butted up against each other to make tight seams.butt⁴ • n. a cask, typically used for wine, ale, or water.

butt5 thicker end of a thing; (dial.) buttock XV; base of a tree-trunk XVII. rel. to the base of which BUTTOCK seems to be a deriv. and which is repr. by words meaning ‘short and stumpy’, as Du. bot (BUTT2).

butt4 cask for wine, etc. XIV. In AL. butta (XIII), bota (XIV) — AN. but, var. of OF. bo(u)t :- late L. buttis, perh. based on Gr. būtī́nē, var. of pūtī́nē osier-covered flask. (Cf. BOTTLE).

butt3 mark for archery practice (orig. embankment holding targets) XIV; †goal, object XVI; target for ridicule, etc. XVII. prob. — (O)F. but, of unkn. orig.; perh. infl. by F. butte (cf. BUTTE) rising ground, knoll, (also) target.

butt2 (locally) applied to various flat-fish. XIII. — MLG. but, MDu. but(te), bot(te), whence also G. butt(e), Sw. butta turbot, Da. bot flounder; prob. rel. to LG. but, MDu, bot stumpy. Cf. HALIBUT.