French word

buter

Pronunciation

IPA/byte/

Meaning

  • verbbump into

Example

Il a buté contre le mur en courant.

He bumped into the wall while running.

Illustration for buter (bump into)

More examples

En lisant, je bute souvent sur les noms propres.

When reading, I often stumble over proper names.

Core concept

A moving person hits something, stops, and cannot get past it.

Common phrases

  • se buter à

    get stuck on

  • buter sur

    stumble over

Similar words

se cogner: To bump part of the body against something.
heurter: To collide with a person or object and feel the impact.

Definition in French

Frapper ou heurter un obstacle en marchant ou en courant; au sens figuré, buter sur un point; familièrement, tuer quelqu'un.

Word origin

Buter comes from Old French boter, meaning to push or strike, and developed from physical collision to stumbling, difficulty, and a colloquial sense of killing.

Usage tips

  • Buter contre takes a physical object, while buter sur commonly introduces a problem, obstacle, or difficult point.

Other meanings

  • stumbleverb
  • come up against ___verb
  • killverb

Opposites

Related words

  • butéstubbornadjective

Word lists with this word