Word.ws English Dictionary

but

/ˈbʌt/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Ireland/ˈbʊt/

but preposition: apart from, except (for), excluding.

Preposition

but

  1. Apart from, except (for), excluding.
    • Everyone but Father left early.
    • I like everything but that.
  2. (obsolete outside Scotland) Outside of.
    • Away but the hoose and tell me whae's there.

Adverb

but (not comparable)

  1. (literary, poetic) Merely, only, just, no more than.
    • Christmas comes but once a year, so we can but wait till then.
    • […] if they kill vs, we shall but die.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Kings 7:4
    Synonyms:
    barely, just, literally, merely, no more than, nothing but, only, simply
  2. (Australia, Geordie, Scotland, conjunctive) Though, however.
    • I'll have to go home early but.
    • "Supposin' the chap ain't dead, but?" Regan persisted.1906, "Steele Rudd", Back At Our Selection, page 161
  3. Used to repeat an adverb for emphasis; simply; just; absolutely.
    • I would never, but never do such a thing!
    • “I would never,” said Joan, as she backed the car and worked on the wheel, “but never have allowed my child to go abroad with that old Lesbian.”1957 March 7, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 6.11, in Pnin, Heinemann, page 166

Conjunction

but

  1. However, although, nevertheless, on the other hand (introducing a clause contrary to prior belief or in contrast with the preceding clause or sentence).
    • She is very old but still attractive.
    • She’s welcomed them but been rude to us.
    Synonyms:
    yet, although, ac
  2. On the contrary, rather (as a regular adversative conjunction, introducing a word or clause in contrast or contradiction with the preceding negative clause or sentence).
    • I am not rich but [I am] poor. Not John but Peter went there.
    • It’s not so much that we don’t wanna go, but I just haven’t time.
  3. (colloquial) Used at the beginning of a sentence to express opposition to a remark.
    • But I never said you could do that!
    • In reality, I apprehend every amorous widow on the stage would run the hazard of being condemned as a servile imitation of Dido, but that happily very few of our play-house critics understand enough of Latin to read Virgil.1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume IV, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book X
  4. Except that (introducing a subordinate clause which qualifies a negative statement); also, (archaic) with omission of the subject of the subordinate clause, acting as a negative relative, "except one that", "except such that".
    • I cannot but feel offended.
    • My kid does nothing but watch TV all day.
  5. (colloquial) Used to link an interjection to the following remark as an intensifier.
    • Wow! But that's amazing!
    • Oh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shade / Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made / People passing by, they would stop and say / "Oh, my, but that little country boy could play"1958 March 31, Chuck Berry, “Johnny B. Goode”, performed by Chuck Berry
  6. (archaic) Without it also being the case that; unless that (introducing a necessary concomitant).
    • It never rains but it pours
    • I never hear this song but I think of you.
  7. (obsolete) Except with; unless with; without.
    • This man unable to manage his own happineſſe, grew ſo inſolent that he could not go, but either ſpurning his equals, or trampling on his inferiours.1639, Thomas Fuller, “Unseasonable Discords betwixt King Baldwine and His Mother; Her Strength in Yeelding to Her Sonne”, in The Historie of the Holy Warre, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas...
  8. (obsolete) Only; solely; merely.
    • Observe but how their own principles combat one another.1641 May, John Milton, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England: And the Causes that hitherto have Hindred it. […], [London]: […] Thomas Vnderhill, →OCLC
    • a formidable man but to his friends1717, John Dryden [et al.], “(please specify |book=I to XV)”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
  9. (obsolete) Until.
    • 'Tshall not be long but I'll be here again.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  10. (obsolete, following a negated expression of improbability) That.
    • It is not impossible but next year I may have the honour of waiting on your Lordship at St. Asaph, If I go to Ireland I certainly will go that way.1784, Joshua Reynolds, edited by John Ingamells and John Edgcumbe, The Letters of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Yale, published 2000, page 131
    • “I am convinced, if you were to press this matter earnestly upon her, she would consent.”
      “It is not impossible but she might,” said Madame de Seidlits […].1789, John Moore, Zeluco, Valancourt, published 2008, page 132

Noun

but (plural buts)

  1. An instance of using the word "but"; an objection or caveat.
    • It has to be done—no ifs, ands, or buts.
    • But—and this is a big but—you have to come home by sundown.
  2. (Scotland) The outer room of a small two-room cottage.
  3. A limit; a boundary.
  4. The end; especially the larger or thicker end, or the blunt, in distinction from the sharp, end; the butt.

Verb

but (third-person singular simple present buts, present participle butting, simple past and past participle butted)

  1. (archaic, humorous, rare) Use the word "but".
    • But me no buts.

Proper noun capitalized: But

But (plural Buts)

  1. A surname.

but meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

but in Hindi

although
लेकिन lekin, पर par
rather
लेकिन lekin, मगर magar, परंतु parantu

but in Tamil

although
ஆனால் āṉāl

but in Urdu

although
لیکِن lekin, اَگَرْچِہ agarci
rather
لیکِن lekin, مَگَر magar
solely, only, merely (obsolete)
بس bas

but in Bengali

although
কিন্তু kintu
rather
কিন্তু kintu
More languagesFewer languages
but in Malayalam
പക്ഷേ pakṣē
but in Kannada
ಆದರೆ ādare
but in Gujarati
પણ paṇ
but in Sanskrit
तु tu
but in Assamese
পিচে pise, পাচে pase, কিন্তু kintu
but in Pashto
لېکن léken, اما amã, مګر magár, منګر mangár
but in Tagalog
baga ma't, bagamat, kundi, maliban
but in Arabic
لٰكِن lākin, لٰكِنَّ lākinna, وَلٰكِن wa-lākin, وَلٰكِنَّ wa-lākinna
but in Malay
tetapi, kecuali
but in Indonesian
kecuali, tetapi, tapi, namun
but in Thai
แต่ dtɛ̀ɛ, แต่ว่า dtɛ̀ɛ-wâa
but in Vietnamese
nhưng, nhưng mà, mà
but in Myanmar
ဒါပေမဲ့ dapemai., သို့ရာတွင် sui.ra-twang, သို့ပေမဲ့ sui.pemai.

Examples of but in a sentence

  • Nobody answered the door when I knocked, so I had no choice but to leave.
  • You told me I could do that, but she said that I could not.
  • Luiz struggled with the movement of Helguson in the box, as he collected a long ball and the Spaniard barged him over, leaving referee Chris Foy little option but to point to the spot.2011 October 23, Becky Ashton, “QPR 1-0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 16 Jan 2012:
  • Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere.1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLC:
  • Black Knight: "'Tis but a scratch." King Arthur: "A scratch?1975, Monty Python, Monty Python and the Holy Grail:
  • The stony outcrops are often covered but thinly with arable soil; winters are bitingly cold, and rainfall scanty and unpredictable.1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 49:

All 40 example sentences with but

Synonyms of but

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of but

Forms of but

Noun
pluralbuts
Verb
third-person singular presentbuts
present participlebutting
past participlebutted
pastbutted
Proper noun
pluralButs

Plural of but: buts

Origin of but

From Middle English but, buten, boute, bouten, from Old English būtan (“without, outside of, except, only”), from Proto-West Germanic *biūtan, *biūtini, equivalent to be- + out. Cognate with Scots but, bot (“outside, without, but”), Saterland Frisian buute (“without”), West Frisian bûten (“outside of, apart from, other than, except, but”), Dutch buiten (“outside”), Dutch Low Saxon buten (“outside”), German Low German buuten, buute (“outside”), obsolete German baußen (“outside”), Luxembourgish baussen. Compare bin, about.

Words formed from but

Phrases with but

96 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with but

26 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about but

What does but mean?
But means apart from, except (for), excluding.
What is but in Hindi?
But in Hindi is लेकिन (lekin), पर (par), मगर (magar). See But meaning in Hindi.
How do you use but in a sentence?
Nobody answered the door when I knocked, so I had no choice but to leave.
What part of speech is but?
But can be a preposition, an adverb, a conjunction or a noun.
How do you pronounce but?
But is pronounced /ˈbʌt/.

Words near but in the dictionary

  1. busyish
  2. busyness
  3. busynesse
  4. busynesses
  5. busywork
  6. but
  7. but and ben
  8. but for
  9. but for the grace of God
  10. but good
  11. but hey

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: but (page history and authors); But (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-but.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-but.wav, EN-AU ck1 but.ogg.

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