bread-and-butter

1 of 2

adjective

bread-and-but·​ter ˈbred-ən(d)-ˈbə-tər 

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

In a separate conversation with Tan, Jim said the Intel CEO told him that the industry is years away from catching up the insatiable appetite for CPUs, which has long been Intel’s bread-and-butter chip. —Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026

Under Ternus, many analysts expect Apple to shift its positioning slightly and, rather than double down on homegrown AI software, focus on its bread-and-butter hardware that will inevitably be the platforms that connect AI to customers. —Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2026

Noun

Fiber-optic cabling, which is Corning's bread and butter, is highly sought-after to replace copper in the age of AI data centers. —Matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026

That is my bread and butter, to amaze people that like getting to the bottom of things. —Eric Fayeulle, ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1770, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bread-and-butter

• kilometre
• butter
• clutter
• cutter
• flutter
• gutter
• mutter
• nutter
• putter
• rutter
• shutter
• sputter

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