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butt joint

butt joint

1 6.7
A connection of two pieces of wood or metal placed end to end without overlapping
  • noun
  • Specialized
: junta a tope
  • In carpentry, a butt joint is often used to connect two pieces of wood precisely at their ends.
  • a simple butt joint
  • milled butt joints
  • use butt joints

We're going to do that with butt joints and pocket holes, butt pockets.

Examples

  • You have more glue surface here than you do with a butt joint, which is what creates a strong joint.

  • We're going to do that with butt joints and pocket holes, butt pockets.

  • This airplane had a metal fuselage with butt joints of which we were very proud.

  • Here I didn't even use tenons, I just went with a glued butt joint and that will be just fine.

  • I glued and nailed everything to make the process quicker and then reinforced the butt joints with screws.

  • For optimal strength, the carpenter decided to use a butt joint to join the two wooden beams together.

  • To create a seamless frame, the artist made sure to align the edges perfectly when forming the butt joint.

Synonyms

butt
vsbutt joint
  • Specialized
2 7.7

A place where two pieces meet end to end without overlap

is the full phrase that explicitly refers to this end to end connection
butt weld
vsbutt joint
  • Specialized
1 6.5

A place where two pieces of metal are joined end to end along their edges

is the broader nonoverlapping connection not only for metals
butt welding
vsbutt joint
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A way to join two metal pieces end to end by melting their ends into one flat joint

focuses on the resulting connection, not the method used to join
butt-weld
vsbutt joint
  • Specialized
8.4

A way to join two metal ends by melting them where they meet

is a general end to end connection not limited to metal work
butt-welding
vsbutt joint
  • Specialized
6.8

A way of joining two metal parts end to end by melting their ends together

describes the connection itself rather than the joining process

How Strong

dovetail joint
  • Specialized
1 6.6
mortise joint
  • Specialized
1 7.0
lap joint
  • Specialized
1 5.8
butt joint
  • Specialized
1 6.7

Surface Forms

butt joint singular
butt joints plural

Morphology

butt + joint

The meaning 'a joint made by joining two pieces end to end' is directly and transparently composed from 'butt' (meaning the end or end-to-end meeting) + 'joint' (a connection). This noun+noun technical composition follows a straightforward English modifier pattern and is likely understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings.

Etymology

Butt joint comes from the sense of butt meaning 'to meet at the end', like two animals butting heads. So a butt joint is literally two pieces joined 'end to end' without overlapping, which is why the name means that simple kind of joint.