bread and butter


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

bread and butter

n.
1. Means of support; livelihood.
2. The essential sustaining element or elements; the mainstay: "As ever, politics, vulgarity and sentimentality were the bread and butter of the Academy Awards" (David Ansen).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bread and butter

n
1. (modifier) a means of support or subsistence; livelihood: the inheritance was their bread and butter.
2. bread-and-butter
a. providing a basic means of subsistence: a bread-and-butter job.
b. solid, reliable, or practical: a bread-and-butter player.
c. expressing gratitude, as for hospitality (esp in the phrase bread-and-butter letter)
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bread′ and but′ter


n.
a basic means of support or income; source of livelihood; sustenance.
[1620–30]

bread-and-but•ter

(ˈbrɛd nˈbʌt ər)

adj.
1. providing a livelihood or reliable income: the agency's bread-and-butter accounts.
2. of or pertaining to the basic needs of life.
3. basic or everyday; staple; routine.
4. expressing thanks for hospitality: a bread-and-butter letter.
[1720–30]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.bread and butter - the financial means whereby one livesbread and butter - the financial means whereby one lives; "each child was expected to pay for their keep"; "he applied to the state for support"; "he could no longer earn his own livelihood"
keep, livelihood, sustenance, living, support
resource - available source of wealth; a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed
amenities, comforts, conveniences, creature comforts - things that make you comfortable and at ease; "all the comforts of home"
maintenance - means of maintenance of a family or group
meal ticket - a source of income or livelihood
subsistence - minimal (or marginal) resources for subsisting; "social security provided only a bare subsistence"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

bread and butter

noun
The means needed to support life:
alimentation, alimony, bread, keep, livelihood, living, maintenance, subsistence, support, sustenance, upkeep.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
رزق، اسباب العيش
obživa
levebrød
kenyér
lífsviîurværi
geçim yolu

bread and butter

n it's his bread and butter (livelihood) → è il suo pane
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

bread

(bred) noun
1. a type of food made of flour or meal baked. bread and butter.
2. one's living. This is how I earn my daily bread.
ˈbreadcrumbs noun plural
very tiny pieces of bread. Dip the fish in egg and breadcrumbs.
ˈbreadwinner noun
a person who earns money to keep a family. When her husband died she had to become the breadwinner.
bread and butter
(a way of earning) one's living. Writing novels is my bread and butter.
on the breadline
with barely enough to live on. The widow and her children are on the breadline.
bread and butter takes a singular verb.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
"Yes; bread and butter. The butter is inside me, so it won't melt and run.
View in context
Hatta looked round and nodded, and went on with his bread and butter.
View in context
Bolter having had his laugh out, took a series of large bites, which finished his first hunk of bread and butter, and assisted himself to a second.
View in context
"He was my true son," repeats the old gentleman, folding his bread and butter on his knee, "a good accountant, and died fifteen years ago."
View in context
In a moment the untidy youth brought in two large pots of tea and on a second journey immense dishes of bread and butter.
View in context
The efforts of Agafea Mihalovna and the cook, that the dinner should be particularly good, only ended in two famished friends attacking the preliminary course, eating a great deal of bread and butter, salt goose and salted mushrooms, and in Levin's finally ordering the soup to be served without the accompaniment of little pies, with which the cook had particularly meant to impress their visitor.
View in context
You ordered that thick bread and butter for three, did you?'
View in context
Dictionary browser ?
Full browser ?