3but adverb
formal 1 : 2only
▪ They have but two weeks to get ready. — sometimes used for emphasis ▪ If they had but given me a chance, I know I could have done it. ▪ He was here but five minutes ago. ▪ She is still but a child. ▪ This new product offers many advantages: speed, convenience, and durability, to name but a few. 2 — used in negative statements to say that something must happen ▪ Anyone who reads the book cannot but feel sympathy for him. [=must feel sympathy for him] ▪ I could not (help) but wonder [=I felt compelled to wonder, I could not help wondering] why she had lied. — see also all but
▪ They have but two weeks to get ready. — sometimes used for emphasis ▪ If they had but given me a chance, I know I could have done it. ▪ He was here but five minutes ago. ▪ She is still but a child. ▪ This new product offers many advantages: speed, convenience, and durability, to name but a few.
