Adjacent Words

Button definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BUT'TON, n. but'n.
1. A knob; a small ball; a catch, used to fasten together the different parts of dress, made of metal, silk, mohair, wood, etc.
2. Any knob or ball fastened to another body; a small protuberant body.
3. A bud; a gem of a plant.
4. The button of the reins of a bridle, is a ring of leather, with the reins passed through, which runs along the length of the reins.
5. A flat piece of wood, turning on a nail or screw, to fasten doors.
6. A small round mass of metal, found at the bottom of a crucible, in chimical experiments.
7. The sea-urchin, an animal which has prickles instead of feet.
BUT'TON, v.t. but'n. To fasten with a button, or buttons; to inclose, or make secure with buttons; often followed with up, as to button up a waistcoat.
1. To dress or clothe. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
2: an electrical switch operated by pressing; "the elevator was operated by push buttons"; "the push beside the bed operated a buzzer at the desk" [syn: push button, push, button]
3: any of various plant parts that resemble buttons
4: a round flat badge displaying information and suitable for pinning onto a garment; "they passed out campaign buttons for their candidate"
5: a female sexual organ homologous to the penis [syn: clitoris, clit, button]
6: a device that when pressed will release part of a mechanism [syn: release, button]
7: any artifact that resembles a button v
1: provide with buttons; "button a shirt"
2: fasten with buttons; "button the dress" [ant: unbutton]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English boton, from Anglo-French butun rose hip, stud, from buter to thrust — more at butt Date: 14th century 1. a. a small knob or disk secured to an article (as of clothing) and used as a fastener by passing it through a buttonhole or loop b. a usually circular metal or plastic badge bearing a stamped design or printed slogan <campaign button> 2. something that resembles a button: as a. any of various parts or growths of a plant or of an animal: as (1) bud (2) an immature whole mushroom; especially button mushroom (3) the terminal segment of a rattlesnake's rattle b. a small globule of metal remaining after fusion (as in assaying) c. a guard on the tip of a fencing foil 3. a. push button b. something (as a push button) that has the real or symbolic capability of initiating a catastrophe (as a nuclear attack) <has his finger on the button> c. a hidden sensitivity that can be manipulated to produce a desired response <knows how to push my buttons> d. a usually box-shaped computer icon that initiates a specific software function 4. the point of the chin especially as a target for a knockout blow • buttonless adjective II. verb (buttoned; buttoning) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to furnish or decorate with buttons 2. a. to pass (a button) through a buttonhole or loop b. to close or fasten with buttons — often used with up <button up your overcoat> 3. a. to close (the lips) to prevent speech <button your lip> b. to close or seal tightly — usually used with up <button up the house for winter> intransitive verb to have buttons for fastening <this dress buttons at the back> • buttoner noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a small disc or knob sewn on to a garment, either to fasten it by being pushed through a buttonhole, or as an ornament or badge. 2 a knob on a piece of esp. electronic equipment which is pressed to operate it. 3 a a small round object (chocolate buttons). b (attrib.) anything resembling a button (button nose). 4 a a bud. b a button mushroom. 5 Fencing a terminal knob on a foil making it harmless. --v. 1 tr. & intr. = button up 1. 2 tr. supply with buttons. Phrases and idioms: buttonball tree (or button wood) US a plane-tree, Platanus occidentalis. button chrysanthemum a variety of chrysanthemum with small spherical flowers. buttoned up colloq. 1 formal and inhibited in manner. 2 silent. button one's lip esp. US sl. remain silent. button mushroom a young unopened mushroom. button-through (of a dress) fastened with buttons from neck to hem like a coat. button up 1 fasten with buttons. 2 colloq. complete (a task etc.) satisfactorily. 3 colloq. become silent. not worth a button worthless. on the button esp. US sl. precisely. Derivatives: buttoned adj. buttonless adj. buttony adj. Etymology: ME f. OF bouton, ult. f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Aleppo boil A*lep"po boil, button button, or evil evil . (Med.) A chronic skin affection terminating in an ulcer, most commonly of the face. It is endemic along the Mediterranean, and is probably due to a specific bacillus. Called also Aleppo ulcer, Biskara boil, Delhi boil, Oriental sore, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Button But"ton, n. [OE. boton, botoun, F. bouton button, bud, prop. something pushing out, fr. bouter to push. See Butt an end.] 1. A knob; a small ball; a small, roundish mass. 2. A catch, of various forms and materials, used to fasten together the different parts of dress, by being attached to one part, and passing through a slit, called a buttonhole, in the other; -- used also for ornament. 3. A bud; a germ of a plant. --Shak. 4. A piece of wood or metal, usually flat and elongated, turning on a nail or screw, to fasten something, as a door. 5. A globule of metal remaining on an assay cupel or in a crucible, after fusion. Button hook, a hook for catching a button and drawing it through a buttonhole, as in buttoning boots and gloves. Button shell (Zo["o]l.), a small, univalve marine shell of the genus Rotella. Button snakeroot. (Bot.) (a) The American composite genus Liatris, having rounded buttonlike heads of flowers. (b) An American umbelliferous plant with rigid, narrow leaves, and flowers in dense heads. Button tree (Bot.), a genus of trees (Conocarpus), furnishing durable timber, mostly natives of the West Indies. To hold by the button, to detain in conversation to weariness; to bore; to buttonhole.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Button But"ton, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buttoned; p. pr. & vb. n. Buttoning.] [OE. botonen, OF. botoner, F. boutonner. See Button, n.] 1. To fasten with a button or buttons; to inclose or make secure with buttons; -- often followed by up. He was a tall, fat, long-bodied man, buttoned up to the throat in a tight green coat. --Dickens. 2. To dress or clothe. [Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Button But"ton, v. i. To be fastened by a button or buttons; as, the coat will not button.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(buttons, buttoning, buttoned) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Buttons are small hard objects sewn on to shirts, coats, or other pieces of clothing. You fasten the clothing by pushing the buttons through holes called buttonholes. ...a coat with brass buttons. N-COUNT 2. If you button a shirt, coat, or other piece of clothing, you fasten it by pushing its buttons through the buttonholes. Ferguson stood up and buttoned his coat. VERB: V n • Button up means the same as button. I buttoned up my coat; it was chilly... The young man slipped on the shirt and buttoned it up... It was freezing out there even in his buttoned-up overcoat. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, V-ed P 3. A button is a small object on a machine or electrical device that you press in order to operate it. He reached for the remote control and pressed the 'play' button. N-COUNT 4. A button is a small piece of metal or plastic which you wear in order to show that you support a particular movement, organization, or person. You fasten a button to your clothes with a pin. (AM; in BRIT, use badge) N-COUNT

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A bad shilling, among coiners. His a-se makes buttons; he is ready to bewray himself through fear. Cant.

Moby Thesaurus

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