bread-and-butter

1 of 2

adjective

bread-and-but·​ter ˈbred-ən(d)-ˈbə-tər How to pronounce bread-and-butter (audio)
1
a
: being as basic as the earning of one's livelihood
bread-and-butter issues
b(1)
: reliable
our bread-and-butter repertoire
(2)
: dependable as a source of income
a company's bread-and-butter products
2
: sent or given as thanks for hospitality
a bread-and-butter letter

bread and butter

2 of 2

noun

: a means of sustenance or livelihood

Examples of bread-and-butter in a Sentence

Noun Casual clothing has always been the company's bread and butter.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
And because the return-to-office debate is still going strong, the office buildings and such that lots of local banks fund as their bread-and-butter are worth less. Melvin Backman, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024 The issue occupies a key nexus where the bread-and-butter concerns of workers meet the larger goals of social justice. Jim Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2024 Much of the address focused on bread-and-butter domestic issues like highways, health care, energy infrastructure and education. Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 NetApp’s bread-and-butter Hybrid Cloud business has been witnessing some headwinds of late due to weaker information technology spending and cost optimization by large businesses. Trefis Team, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 The store plans to expand its hours, building off what has thus far been its bread-and-butter: speaking events, including one last week with local author Lauren Markham, who is promoting a new book. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2024 Like a lot of builders, Hayden has spent the past few years whittling back sizes on its bread-and-butter offering of one- and two-story homes between 1,400 and 2,500 square feet. Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024 Stephenson’s bread-and-butter is analyzing hotel occupancy data to get a sense as to whether the events put more heads in beds than what’s typically seen. Alicia Wallace, CNN, 10 Feb. 2024 The spiced waffle fries were topped with both Buffalo chicken and blue cheese and Kansas City Cattleman’s BBQ pork, coleslaw and bread-and-butter pickles to honor the two teams’ respective cities. Sarah Mosqueda, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2024
Noun
The popular video app Omegle was beloved for producing spontaneous exchanges that became TikTok’s bread and butter. Yiwen Lu, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2024 In private practice, his bread and butter was civil litigation, contract law and family disputes. Daniel Klaidman, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2024 Because the truth is, even these small moves can add up to a noticeable impact on your financial life. 1. Create a plan for spending and saving A budget is the bread and butter of smart financial management. Becca Stanek, theweek, 1 Jan. 2024 After pouring himself a glass of iced tea and offering a visitor some fresh French bread and butter, McCann describes the incident that, in 1947, compelled him to pursue music as his livelihood. George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Jan. 2024 All those things are the bread and butter of good old-fashioned drama. Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2024 Both of those were expensive, limited-edition bottles, a far cry from the distillery’s bread and butter Wild Turkey 101. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 24 Dec. 2023 Idiosyncratic takes on Catholic rituals and gorgeously eclectic reinventions of liturgical music, fueled by a deeply personal gnostic vision, are Christian’s bread and butter. Adam Green, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2024 Historically, these voters have been Trump's bread and butter. 538 and Abc News, ABC News, 15 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bread-and-butter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1770, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bread-and-butter was in 1770

Dictionary Entries Near bread-and-butter

bread and butter

bread-and-butter

bread-and-butter pickle

Cite this Entry

“Bread-and-butter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bread-and-butter. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bread-and-butter

adjective
ˌbred-ᵊn-ˈbət-ər
1
a
: concerned with or being as basic as earning a living
bread-and-butter economic issues
b
: dependable
bread-and-butter products that always sell
2
: sent or given as thanks for hospitality
a bread-and-butter note
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!