button

[ buht-n ]

/ ˈbʌt n /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR button ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small disk, knob, or the like for sewing or otherwise attaching to an article, as of clothing, serving as a fastening when passed through a buttonhole or loop.

anything resembling a button, especially in being small and round, as any of various candies, ornaments, tags, identification badges, reflectors, markers, etc.

a badge or emblem bearing a name, slogan, identifying figure, etc., for wear on the lapel, dress, etc.: campaign buttons.

any small knob or disk pressed to activate an electric circuit, release a spring, or otherwise operate or open a machine, small door, toy, etc.

Botany. a bud or other protuberant part of a plant.

Mycology.

a young or undeveloped mushroom.
any protuberant part of a fungus.

Zoology. any of various small parts or structures resembling a button, as the rattle at the tip of the tail in a very young rattlesnake.

Boxing Informal. the point of the chin.

Also called turn button. a fastener for a door, window, etc., having two arms and rotating on a pivot that is attached to the frame.

Metallurgy. (in assaying) a small globule or lump of metal at the bottom of a crucible after fusion.

Fencing. the protective, blunting knob fixed to the point of a foil.

Horology. crown(def 19).

Computers. (in a graphical user interface) a small, button-shaped or clearly defined area that the user can click on or touch to choose an option.

verb (used with object)

to fasten with a button or buttons: She quickly buttoned her coat.

to insert (a button) in a buttonhole or loop: He buttoned the top button of his shirt.

to provide (something) with a button or buttons.

verb (used without object)

to be capable of being buttoned: This coat buttons, but that one zips.

Idioms for button

button up, Informal.

Also button one's lip. to become or keep silent.
to fasten securely; close up: Within a short time, everything on the submarine was buttoned up.
to fasten fully or put on, especially an outer garment: Button up before going out.
to complete successfully; finish: The report is all buttoned up.

have all one's buttons, Informal. to be mentally competent, alert, and sane; have all one's wits: At 106 she still has all her buttons.

on the button, Informal. exactly as desired, expected, specified, etc.: The prediction for snow was right on the button.

Origin of button

1275–1325; Middle English boto(u)n < Anglo-French: rosehip, button, stud; Middle French boton, equivalent to boter to butt³ + -on noun suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM button

but·ton·er, noun but·ton·like, adjective mis·but·ton, verb (used with object) mis·but·toned, adjective

re·but·ton, verb (used with object) well-but·toned, adjective

Words nearby button

butting, buttinsky, buttle, buttock, buttock-clenching, button, button ear, button man, button mangrove, button one's lip, button quail

Definition for button (2 of 2)

Button

[ buht-n ]

/ ˈbʌt n /

noun

Richard Tot·ten

[tot-n] /ˈtɒt n/, Dick,born 1929, U.S. figure skater.

Example sentences from the Web for button

There is a disconnect, which allows for some distance between his actions and your button presses.

I Felt Like Showering After the First-Person Sex in ‘Grand Theft Auto’ |Alec Kubas-Meyer |November 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Among them were some horrifying images of severe damage to nasal tissue caused by a child lodging a button battery in her nose.

Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R. |Russell Saunders |November 14, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They push the “war on women” button, and a couple of others, like Social Security, which I discussed yesterday.

How Can Dems Be Losing to These Idiots? |Michael Tomasky |October 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
You throw the last piece into the elevator itself and hit the button marked LOBBY.

The Stacks: Pete Dexter on What It’s Like to Lose the Knack of Having Fun |Pete Dexter |September 20, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Instead of pushing the cup against a mechanical lever, users push a “button” on a touchscreen.

Font of Invention | |September 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In the porch he paused a moment, to draw on his woollen gloves, and button his great coat, and for something besides.

Gifts of Genius |Various
The red robot pushed a button on the wall before beginning the massage.

Manners of the Age |Horace Brown Fyfe
She raised the glove that she had been nervously swinging back and forth, and bit hard upon the button of it.

A Chance Acquaintance |W. D. Howells
"Yes, the wooden rim of the button," replied Muller, telling the truth this time.

The Lamp That Went Out |Augusta Groner
The neck, or collet, of the button is japanned after being stamped and cut.

The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 354, October 9, 1886 |Various

British Dictionary definitions for button

button

/ (ˈbʌtən) /

noun

a disc or knob of plastic, wood, etc, attached to a garment, etc, usually for fastening two surfaces together by passing it through a buttonhole or loop

a small round object, such as any of various sweets, decorations, or badges

a small disc that completes an electric circuit when pushed, as one that operates a doorbell or machine

a symbolic representation of a button on the screen of a computer that is notionally depressed by manipulating the mouse to initiate an action

biology any rounded knoblike part or organ, such as an unripe mushroom

fencing the protective knob fixed to the point of a foil

a small amount of metal, usually lead, with which gold or silver is fused, thus concentrating it during assaying

the piece of a weld that pulls out during the destructive testing of spot welds

rowing a projection around the loom of an oar that prevents it slipping through the rowlock

British an object of no value (esp in the phrase not worth a button)

slang intellect; mental capacity (in such phrases as a button short, to have all one's buttons, etc)

on the button informal exactly; precisely

verb

to fasten with a button or buttons

(tr) to provide with buttons

(tr) fencing to hit (an opponent) with the button of one's foil

button one's lip, button up one's lip, button one's mouth or button up one's mouth to stop talking: often imperative

Derived forms of button

buttoner, noun buttonless, adjective buttony, adjective

Word Origin for button

C14: from Old French boton, from boter to thrust, butt, of Germanic origin; see butt ³

Medical definitions for button

button

[ bŭt′n ]

n.

A knoblike structure, device, or lesion.

Idioms and Phrases with button

button

In addition to the idioms beginning with button

button one's lip
button up

also see:

cute as a button
have all one's buttons
on the button
push (press) someone's buttons
push the panic button

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button