butter up
verb
buttered up; buttering up; butters up
: to charm or beguile with lavish flattery or praise
Examples of butter up in a Sentence
a flunky who shamelessly butters up the boss
Recent Examples on the Web
Some buttering up in your prompt can likely produce this.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
Enter Rutte, who knew Trump from his time as Prime Minister, and who got to work buttering up the American president.
—Tom Nagorski, Time, 18 July 2025
Images of toadies buttering up an emperor come to mind.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025
Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images Anderson, currently a free agent, could be buttering up the Commanders to get a contract offer, but there is some truth to his statement.
—Victor Williams, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
Add butter and pulse in or use a fork to break butter up into pea-size pieces.
—Mary Ann Esposito, Boston Herald, 21 May 2025
In contrast, Tai — who eventually becomes a powerful lawyer as an adult — often relies on buttering up her witnesses and using courtroom theatrics to get her point across.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
Enter Rutte, who knew Trump from his time as Prime Minister, and who got to work buttering up the American president.
—Tom Nagorski, Time, 18 July 2025
Images of toadies buttering up an emperor come to mind.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 11 July 2025
Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images Anderson, currently a free agent, could be buttering up the Commanders to get a contract offer, but there is some truth to his statement.
—Victor Williams, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
Add butter and pulse in or use a fork to break butter up into pea-size pieces.
—Mary Ann Esposito, Boston Herald, 21 May 2025
In contrast, Tai — who eventually becomes a powerful lawyer as an adult — often relies on buttering up her witnesses and using courtroom theatrics to get her point across.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Butter up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/butter%20up. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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