but 1
/but/ ; unstressed /beuht/ , conj.
1. on the contrary; yet: My brother went, but I did not.
2. except; save: She was so overcome with grief she could do nothing but weep.
3. unless; if not; except that (fol. by a clause, often with that expressed): Nothing would do but that I should come in.
4. without the circumstance that: It never rains but it pours.
5. otherwise than: There is no hope but by prayer.
6. that (used esp. after doubt, deny, etc., with a negative): I don't doubt but he will do it.
7. who not; that not: No leaders worthy of the name ever existed but they were optimists.
8. (used as an intensifier to introduce an exclamatory expression): But she's beautiful!
9. Informal. than: It no sooner started raining but it stopped.
10. but what . See what (def. 31).
prep.
11. with the exception of; except; save: No one replied but me.
adv.
12. only; just: There is but one God.
13. but for , except for; were it not for: But for the excessive humidity, it might have been a pleasant day.
n.
14. buts , reservations or objections: You'll do as you're told, no buts about it.
[ bef. 900; ME buten, OE butan for phrase be utan on the outside, without. See BY, OUT ]
Syn. 1. BUT, HOWEVER, NEVERTHELESS, STILL, YET are words implying opposition (with a possible concession). BUT marks an opposition or contrast, though in a casual way: We are going, but we shall return. HOWEVER indicates a less marked opposition, but displays a second consideration to be compared with the first: We are going; however ( "notice this also" ), we shall return.
NEVERTHELESS implies a concession, something which should not be forgotten in making a summing up: We are going; nevertheless ( "do not forget that" ), we shall return. STILL implies that in spite of a preceding concession, something must be considered as possible or even inevitable: We have to go on foot; still ( "it is probable and possible that" ), we'll get there. YET implies that in spite of a preceding concession, there is still a chance for a different outcome: We are going; yet ( "in spite of all, some day" ), we shall return. 2. See except 1 .
Usage. 1. BUT, like and, is a common transitional word and often begins sentences. When it is used in the middle of a sentence as a coordinating conjunction like and or so, it is not followed by a comma unless the comma is one of a pair setting off a parenthetical expression: His political affiliations make no difference, but his lack of ethics does. The cast is nearly complete, but, our efforts notwithstanding, we lack a star. See also and, so 1 .
2, 11 . When BUT is understood as a conjunction and the pronoun following it is understood as the subject of an incompletely expressed clause, the pronoun is in the subjective case: Everyone lost faith in the plan but she ( did not lose faith ). In virtually identical contexts, when BUT is understood as a preposition, the pronoun following it is in the objective case: Everyone lost faith but her. The prepositional use is more common. However, when prepositional BUT and its following pronoun occur near the beginning of a sentence, the subjective case often appears: Everyone but she lost faith in the plan. See also doubt, than .
but 2
/but/ , n. Scot.
1. the outer or front room of a house; the outer or front apartment in an apartment house.
2. the kitchen of a two-room dwelling, esp. of a cottage.
[ 1715-25; n. use of BUT 1 (adv.) outside, outside the house ]
but 3
/but/
butt 5 .