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The -but in rebut once meant basically "butt", so rebut's original meanings were "to drive or beat back" and "to attack with violent language". Rebuttals can still be rather violent, as anyone who has watched some heated moments in a presidential debate can testify. The word is often used by lawyers, since the lawyer for the accused or for the party being sued almost always tries to rebut the charges against his or her client; but it's also used in plenty of contexts outside the courtroom.
Examples of rebut in a Sentence
Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025
The reports by the Fed and CBO rebut a core economic assumption of recent decades.
—Andrew Rechenberg, Boston Herald, 11 Mar. 2025
Dudek also rebutted claims — by Musk and from Trump himself in at least two public appearances this week — that millions of people were receiving Social Security benefits despite being more than 150 years old.
—Bloomberg, Orange County Register, 21 Feb. 2025
The union representing air traffic controllers on Friday rebutted President Trump's unsubstantiated claim that diversity policies in aviation were to blame for the fatal plane crash Wednesday near Washington, D.C.
—April Rubin, Axios, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rebut
Cite this Entry
“Rebut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebut. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rebut
verb
Legal Definition
rebut
transitive verb
Anglo-French reboter, rebuter to answer a charge, bar from an action, literally, to repulse, rebuff, from Old French reboter, from re- back + boter to push, butt
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