What does butterflying mean?
Butterflying is the present participle of the culinary verb 'to butterfly', meaning to cut a piece of food—most often meat, poultry, seafood, or shrimp—nearly in half along its length and then open it out flat. The resulting shape vaguely recalls a butterfly's spread wings, which is how the technique got its name. Cooks use this method because flattening a thick cut makes it cook faster and more evenly, allows marinades and seasonings to penetrate more thoroughly, and creates an attractive presentation on the plate. Common applications include butterflying a leg of lamb, splitting chicken breasts for quicker grilling, and opening shrimp before stuffing them. The word appears mainly in recipes, cooking instruction, and menu descriptions rather than everyday conversation, and its close relative 'butterflied' describes the finished result. Though firmly rooted in the kitchen, the term derives from the insect name 'butterfly' rather than from any entomological activity, making it one of cookery's more charming pieces of borrowed vocabulary.
verbThe present participle and gerund of the verb 'butterfly': to split a piece of food, especially meat, poultry, or seafood, open down the middle and spread it flat so it cooks more quickly and evenly.
- To cut a food such as meat, poultry, fish, or shrimp nearly in half and spread it open flat, resembling the shape of butterfly wings, so that it cooks faster and more evenly.
- (Of a swimmer) To perform the butterfly stroke — less commonly expressed as 'butterflying', since swimmers more often say they are swimming the butterfly.
"The chef was butterflying a leg of lamb so the marinade could penetrate the thicker sections."
"She spent the morning butterflying chicken breasts for the grill."
"The recipe calls for butterflying the shrimp before marinating them in garlic and lime."
Butterflying doesn't involve any butterflies at all — just a sharp knife and a piece of meat opened up like the wings of one.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of butterflying
The word traces back to the noun 'butterfly', which comes from Old English 'buttorfleoge', a compound of 'butere' (butter) and 'fleoge' (fly), though the reason for the butter element is uncertain. The culinary sense of using 'butterfly' as a verb—to split and flatten food into a winglike shape—developed much later, appearing in English cookery writing around the mid-20th century. It shares its roots with other compounds built on the Old English words for butter and fly.
Related word forms
How butterflying is actually used
Almost exclusively used as a gerund or present participle in culinary contexts; the base form 'to butterfly' and the past form 'butterflied' are more common in recipes and menus. The term carries a professional-cooking connotation but is widely used by home cooks as well. The rare swimming sense is better expressed with 'swimming the butterfly'.
Easily confused with butterflying
'Butterfingers' refers to someone who habitually drops things, while 'butterflying' is the culinary technique of splitting food open flat.