button
/ˈbʌt(ə)n
/noun
1A small disc or knob sewn on to a garment, either to fasten it by being pushed through a slit made for the purpose or for decoration.At this stage, they'll also check your garments for slits, broken buttons or zippers, and any other irregularities....
- It also features a two-button cuff with a button sleeve placket and wood grain Eagle logo buttons.
- He was pushing buttons on purpose, to figure out what would make him tick and what he would let roll off his back.
Synonyms
fastener, stud, link, toggle;
hook, catch, clasp
1.1A small round object resembling a button: chocolate buttons...
- Danz has opened a tube of chocolate buttons from Danika.
- Well, anyone who has had chocolate buttons will disagree.
- No one can get close to our award winning house recipes in these organic chocolate buttons.
1.2 Fencing A knob fitted to the point of a foil to make it harmless.A second button costs $10 and lets the chime go of to a different sound than the other button - perfect to differentiate your own touch from your opponent's....
- These days, the adherents of the point d'arrêt are few and far between, and non-electric weapons are generally fitted with foil-style buttons.
- Notice the tip is rounded with a button mechanism and wires running down the grooves on the side of the blade.
1.3Used in reference to things of little worth: he will never give away anything that is worth a button...
- ‘At Troon I was high as a kite, then two weeks later I wasn't worth a button,’ he recalls sadly.
2A small device on a piece of electrical or electronic equipment which is pressed to operate it.She pushed the button and waited in front of one of the shiny gold colored doors....
- He pushed the green button in front of him and the mannequin started to move about the field.
- Push the button on the front edge and lift, the lid flips back and supports slide out, providing a stand for the phone.
Synonyms
knob, switch, on/off switch, push switch, disc, lever, handle, key, control, controller
2.1An element of a graphical user interface which a user can select to perform a particular action: just search for the app you want and click the ‘buy’ or ‘install’ button...
- The menu options are well designed, and the simple left/right and select buttons work effectively.
- You advance forward and backward by clicking buttons.
- We're not opposed to touch, but sometimes it would be nice to have forward, back and a home screen button to press.
3chiefly North American A badge bearing a design or slogan and pinned to clothing.You can't see from here, but those badges and buttons sport a plethora of pro-life phrases....
- Most are adorned with slogan buttons, some of which are very old and rare.
- The slogans on our buttons are actually funny, and many of them are about cats.
verb
1 [with object] Fasten (clothing) with buttons: he buttoned up his jacket...
- I am buttoning my skirt with fingers that are trembling, and my voice seems to be coming from a great distance.
- It was a cold November night in Hawolgok-dong and I buttoned my coat against a bitter wind announcing the onset of winter.
- I think glancing along rows of neatly zipped trousers and tightly buttoned shirts in the tube carriage.
1.1 (button someone into) Fasten the buttons of a garment being worn by someone: he buttoned himself into the raincoat...
- She lay one across the back of the chair and began buttoning Wilhelm into the other as though he were a doll.
- ‘I can't wait,’ I sighed dramatically, letting Susie button me into my coat as Meredith clocked out.
- He sits on a desk in the corner of my lounge, waiting for me to push button him into life.
1.2 [no object] (Of a garment) be fastened with buttons: a dress which buttoned down the front...
- The dark navy plaid skirt came down a little below mid-thigh and the short sleeve shirt buttoned down the front.
- The plaid skirt seem to come up to her breasts and her shirt buttoned down and was supposed to be tucked into her skirt but she left it out.
- She was wearing a long floral print dress that buttoned all down the front of her.
2 (usually in imperative button it) informal Stop talking.Colin Todd has warned his City players to button it....
- Put them in blazers, then tell them to button it.
- If they manage to persuade the likes of White and Laporte to keep it buttoned, it will be one of the miracles of the age.
Phrases
button one's lip
on the button
press the button
push (or press) someone's buttons
Phrasal verbs
button something up
Derivatives
buttonless
/ adjective ...- No starched apron-bib is sullied, no long straight gilet is crumpled, no cuff or kirtle torn or buttonless, no bold tricorne hat askew.
- Baggy white pants with patches and a shrunken, buttonless vest was not his idea of a good costume.
- From a design standpoint, these new buttonless elevators in populated metro areas are great.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French bouton, of Germanic origin and related to butt1.
Rhymes
- moth mullein
- moth orchid
- mothproof
- mothproofer
- moth-wing
- mothy
- motif
- quadraphonically
- quadraphonics
- quadraphony
- quadraplex
- quadrasonic
- quadrat
- quadrate
- quadrate bone
- quadrate muscle
- quadrathlon
- quadratic
- quadratically
- quadratic equation
- quadratic form
- quadratic programming
- quadratrix
- quadrature
- quadrature amplitude modulation