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

Since launching its first-ever central processing unit (CPU) in early 2023, Nvidia has always sold them alongside its bread-and-butter graphics processing units (GPUs) in server racks. —Zev Fima, CNBC, 17 Mar. 2026

So defenses sag off them along the perimeter in order to take away those bread-and-butter cuts. —Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 3 Mar. 2026

Noun

The power play has been the Falcons’ bread and butter all season, scoring at a remarkable 45% clip, and Niccum and Goodreau scored five-on-four goals to put the Falcons up 2-0 early in the second period. —John Shipley, Twin Cities, 28 Mar. 2026

Dine-in dinner entrées include hot bread and butter, and a choice of soup or salad. —Elaine Rewolinski, jsonline.com, 23 Mar. 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