1
: a manservant having charge of the wines and liquors
2
: the chief male servant of a household who has charge of other employees, receives guests, directs the serving of meals, and performs various personal services
Examples of butler in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
While the hotel pool is small and not great for families who love big resort pools, the hotel makes up for it with beach butler service.
—
Miami Herald, 16 July 2025
For all the culinary bells and whistles at Bateleur, our favorite food and drink moment was the simplest: the pots of piping-hot tea and coffee delivered by our butler through a hatch at the side of our tent in the pre-dawn darkness, to wake us up in time for a safari.
—Flora Stubbs, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Ishiguro’s Booker Prize–winning 1989 novel is told in the first person by Stevens, the longtime butler to one Lord Darlington of Darlington Hall, a stately English country home.
—Mia Barzilay Freund, Vogue, 7 July 2025
With eight carriages and 18 cabins—three of which are Grand Suites with personal butler service—this new train offers design and amenities rooted in Britain.
—India Brown, Robb Report, 4 July 2025
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Miami Herald, 16 July 2025
For all the culinary bells and whistles at Bateleur, our favorite food and drink moment was the simplest: the pots of piping-hot tea and coffee delivered by our butler through a hatch at the side of our tent in the pre-dawn darkness, to wake us up in time for a safari.
—Flora Stubbs, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Ishiguro’s Booker Prize–winning 1989 novel is told in the first person by Stevens, the longtime butler to one Lord Darlington of Darlington Hall, a stately English country home.
—Mia Barzilay Freund, Vogue, 7 July 2025
With eight carriages and 18 cabins—three of which are Grand Suites with personal butler service—this new train offers design and amenities rooted in Britain.
—India Brown, Robb Report, 4 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for butler
Cite this Entry
“Butler.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/butler. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
butler
noun
but·ler
ˈbət-lər 
: a chief male household servant
Etymology
Middle English buteler "household servant in charge of wines," from early French butiller (same meaning), from botele "bottle," derived from Latin buttis "cask"
Biographical Definition
Butler 1 of 5
biographical name (1)
But·ler
ˈbət-lər
Benjamin Franklin 1818–1893 American general and politician
Butler
2 of 5biographical name (2)
Joseph 1692–1752 English theologian
Butler
3 of 5biographical name (3)
Nicholas Murray 1862–1947 American educator; president Columbia University (1901–45)
Butler
4 of 5biographical name (4)
Samuel 1612–1680 English satirical poet
Butler
5 of 5biographical name (5)
Samuel 1835–1902 English novelist and satirist
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