abut

verb

ə-ˈbət 

abutted; abutting

transitive verb

1

: to border on : to touch along an edge

Their property abuts our land.

2

: to cause to touch or lean for support

abut a timber against a post

intransitive verb

1

: to touch along a border or with a projecting part

a parcel of land that abuts on the road

2

a

: to terminate at a point of contact

b

: to lean for support

Synonyms

• adjoin
• join
• touch
• flank
• surround
• neighbor

Examples of abut in a Sentence

Their property and our property abut.

our land abuts a nature preserve, so we see a lot of wildlife

Recent Examples on the Web

Once a working farm in the time of the gold rush, since 1962 the Greenhorn has been a place where the day is taken at a leisurely pace, where visitors soak in the 600 acres that abuts to 500,000 more acres of public land. —Jenny Peters, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025

Yet Janine seems to truly care about Cynthia, sharing stories abut her mother. —Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 7 Sep. 2025

Nearby Interstate 84 abuts some businesses, but the surrounding land is largely undeveloped. —Darin Oswald, Idaho Statesman, 2 Sep. 2025

In Mountain View’s North Bayshore neighborhood, where land abutting Google’s headquarters comes at a premium and the average home is priced close to $2 million, a 100-unit affordable housing development opened its doors this spring. —Grace Hase, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English abutten, borrowed from Anglo-French abuter, from a-, verb-forming prefix (going back to Latin ad- ad-) + bout, but "push, thrust, blow, end, extremity," noun derivative from bouter, boter "to push, thrust, strike" — more at butt entry 3

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for abut

• catgut
• chesnut
• chestnut
• donut
• doughnut
• groundnut
• haircut
• hindgut
• midgut
• precut
• rebut
• recut

Kids Definition

abut

verb

ə-ˈbət 

abutted; abutting

: to touch along a border or with a part that sticks out

abutter noun

Legal Definition

abut

verb

ə-ˈbət 

abutted; abutting

intransitive verb

: to touch along a border or with a projecting part

—used with on, upon, or against

the land abuts on the road

transitive verb

: to border on : reach or touch with an end

two lots that abut each other