Word.ws English Dictionary

buttercup

UK/ˈbʌt.ə.kʌp//ˈbʌt.ɚ.kʌp/

buttercup noun: any of many herbs, of the genus Ranunculus, having yellow flowers; the crowfoot. Also the ellipsis of buttercup squash.

buttercup: any of many herbs, of the genus Ranunculus, having yellow flowers; the crowfoot
Image: Hanay, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

buttercup (plural buttercups)

  1. Any of many herbs, of the genus Ranunculus, having yellow flowers; the crowfoot.
  2. Any flower of the genus Narcissus; a daffodil.
  3. An affectionate or ironic term of address.
    • When she touched my hand, what a chill I got
      Her lips are like a volcano that's hot
      I'm proud to say that she's my buttercup.
      I'm in love - I'm all shook up.1957, “All Shook Up”, Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley (lyrics), performed by Elvis Presley
    • Listen, buttercup, you're damned good in bed. They don't come any better, but I'm really not interested in playing second fiddle to your camera or your young lovers.1987, Joyce Brandon, Lady and the Lawman, page 346

Also used as

buttercup is also the ellipsis of buttercup squash.

buttercup meaning in Arabic and Persian

buttercup in Arabic

herb of the genus Ranunculus
حَوْذَان ḥawḏān

buttercup in Persian

herb of the genus Ranunculus
آلاله âlâle

Synonyms of buttercup

All synonyms of buttercup

Forms of buttercup

pluralbuttercups

Plural of buttercup: buttercups

Origin of buttercup

From butter + cup. Both sense 1 and 2 are from the flowers' association with butter, from their yellow colour. Compare butterflower for a similar derivation; outside of English, compare Dutch boterbloem, German Butterblume.

Words formed from buttercup

Phrases with buttercup

Questions about buttercup

What does buttercup mean?
Buttercup means any of many herbs, of the genus Ranunculus, having yellow flowers; the crowfoot.
What is buttercup in Arabic?
Buttercup in Arabic is حَوْذَان (ḥawḏān). See Buttercup meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is buttercup?
Buttercup is a noun.
How do you pronounce buttercup?
Buttercup is pronounced /ˈbʌt.ə.kʌp/ (UK).
What is the plural of buttercup?
The plural of buttercup is buttercups.

Words near buttercup in the dictionary

  1. buttercream
  2. buttercreams
  3. buttercross
  4. buttercrosses
  5. buttercrunch
  6. buttercup
  7. buttercup anemone
  8. buttercup anemones
  9. buttercup squash
  10. buttercup squashes
  11. buttercup tree

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: buttercup (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: en-us-buttercup.ogg.

Cite this entry: “buttercup.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/buttercup. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.