Meanings
present singular third person butts in · participle present butting in · participle past butted in · past butted in
- idiomaticinformalTo join a conversation or situation in which one is not welcome or invited; to interject (connotes a rude or discourteous interruption).
Forgive me for butting in.
2 more examples
Hey, this is none of your business; don’t butt in!
That spurt of rage took Bradly in the midriff before he could control it. He was standing over Podson with such eminent threat in his bristling beard that Podson said sulkily, "Oh, all right, I don't want to butt in, if you feel like that about it."
1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 125
Synonyms & antonyms
verbbreak into a conversation
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian намесвам се
- намесвам се (namesvam se)to join conversation when not welcome
Dutch onderbreken, zich moeien
- onderbrekento join conversation when not welcome
- zich moeiento join conversation when not welcome
- zich inmengento join conversation when not welcome
French ramener sa fraise, s’incruster
- ramener sa fraiseto join conversation when not welcome
- s’incrusterto join conversation when not welcome
German unterbrechen, sich einmischen
- unterbrechento join conversation when not welcome
- sich einmischento join conversation when not welcome
Italian intromettersi
- intromettersito join conversation when not welcome
Māori kohiko
- kohikoto join conversation when not welcome
Polish wtrącać się, wtrącić się
- wtrącać sięto join conversation when not welcome
- wtrącić sięto join conversation when not welcome
- wcinać sięto join conversation when not welcome
- wciąć sięto join conversation when not welcome
- wpychać sięto join a queue not at the end, but in the middle
- wepchać sięto join a queue not at the end, but in the middle
- wepchnąć sięto join a queue not at the end, but in the middle
Portuguese intrometer-se, meter o nariz onde não é chamado
- intrometer-seto join conversation when not welcome
- meter o nariz onde não é chamadoto join conversation when not welcome
- meter o bedelho emto join conversation when not welcome
- furar filato join a queue not at the end, but in the middle
Russian встрева́ть, вкли́ниваться
- встрева́ть (vstrevátʹ)to join conversation when not welcome
- вкли́ниваться (vklínivatʹsja)to join conversation when not welcome
- вме́шиватьсяto join conversation when not welcome
- вкли́ниватьсяto join a queue not at the end, but in the middle
Spanish meter baza
- meter bazato join conversation when not welcome
Swedish lägga sig i
- lägga sig ito join conversation when not welcome
Thai ยุ่ง
- ยุ่ง (yûng)to join conversation when not welcome
Turkish burnunu sokmak, maydanoz olmak
- burnunu sokmakto join conversation when not welcome
- maydanoz olmakto join conversation when not welcome
- kaynak yapmakto join a queue not at the end, but in the middle
Cite this entry
butt in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butt%20in
“butt in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butt%20in. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “butt in,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/butt%20in.
Source: butt in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.