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Glite Dictionary
to butt out

to butt out

25 8.9
To stop getting involved in other people's business
  • phrasal verb
  • /bʌt aʊt/
  • Informal
translation icon : no meterse (en)
  • Butt out, Buddy!
  • just butt out
  • butt out of my business
  • butt out of my life

Examples

  • Let him know, in no uncertain terms, that he needs to butt out.

    Blog text (8)

  • Butt out, pal!

    Twins (1988)

  • - Hey, come on, butt out, will ya?

    The Ambulance (1990)

  • Hang on, I just asked the same question, I was told to butt out!

    High Plains Invaders (2009)

  • We could hear ourselves a whole lot better if you would butt out for about 30 seconds.

    The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)

  • "You can tell him from me to butt out of my business."

    Fiction book (1990)

  • In the meantime, butt out of my love life.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • "Chloe, I don't tell you how to run your business, so butt out of mine."

    Fiction book (2002)

  • - Yeah, butt out.

    Stronger (2017)

  • "If you want to help, that's great, but please just butt out of personal matters."

Synonyms

to back off
vsto butt out
  • Informal
356 2.8

Move away from someone, or stop taking part in something

is about ending meddling in others' affairs rather than only physical withdrawal
to stay out of it
vsto butt out
56 3.8

To avoid getting involved in an argument or fight

focuses on ending active interference in someone else's matters rather than simple avoidance
to mind your own business
vsto butt out
  • Informal
35 5.8

Tell someone not to ask about or get involved in other people's lives

refers to stopping oneself from getting involved in others' affairs
to get out of someone's hair
vsto butt out
  • Informal
1 6.3

To stop bothering someone so they can work or think

means stopping involvement in other people's affairs rather than merely ending a nuisance
to stay out of someone's beeswax
vsto butt out
  • Slang
9.9

To not ask about or get involved in someone's private matters

is the act of stopping oneself from interfering rather than a blunt order
to get out of someone's face
vsto butt out
  • Informal
8.6

To leave someone alone when you bother them

concerns ceasing interference in others' matters rather than only leaving physical space

Antonyms

to interfere
487 3.5

To get involved in a situation and make things not work as they should

to intrude
105 4.4

To go into a place or conversation where you are not welcome

How Involved

to interfere
487 3.5
to intrude
105 4.4
to butt out
  • Informal
25 8.9
to mind one's own business
  • Informal
51 3.7

Surface Forms

butt out infinitive
butted out past
butted out past participle
butting out present participle
butts out third person singular

Morphology

butt + out

The literal meanings of the constituents ('butt' as a noun = rear end; 'out' = away) do not directly yield 'stop involving yourself', but the expression is a phrasal-verb/idiomatic extension of 'butt' as a verb meaning 'push/interfere' (cf. 'butt in') with 'out' marking removal or absence. A B1 learner who knows the phrasal-verb pattern or the verbal sense of 'butt' may infer the meaning, but without that exposure the sense is not fully predictable from the parts.

Etymology

The phrasal verb butt out comes from the image of an animal that butts — it pushes with its head — and the word out, which means 'away'. So telling someone to butt out is like telling them to move away and stop pushing into a conversation, which is why it means 'stop interfering'.