buttons

But·ton  (btn), Richard Totten Known as "Dick." Born 1929.

American figure skater who was U.S. men's champion from 1946 to 1952 and won Olympic gold medals in 1948 and 1952.

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but·ton  (btn)

n.

1.

a. A generally disk-shaped fastener used to join two parts of a garment by fitting through a buttonhole or loop.

b. Such an object used for decoration.

2. Any of various objects resembling a button, especially:

a. A push-button switch.

b. The blunt tip of a fencing foil.

c. A fused metal or glass globule.

3. Computer Science

a. In graphical user interface systems, a well-defined area within the interface that is clicked to select a command.

b. In a hypertext database, an icon that when selected allows a user to view a particular associated object.

4. Any of various knoblike structures of a plant or animal, especially:

a. An immature, unexpanded mushroom.

b. The tip of a rattlesnake's rattle.

5. A usually round flat badge that bears a design or printed information and is typically pinned to a garment: a campaign button.

6. Informal The end of the chin, regarded as the point of impact for a punch.

v. but·toned, but·ton·ing, but·tons

v.tr.

1. To fasten with buttons: buttoned his shirt; buttoned up her raincoat.

2. To decorate or furnish with buttons.

3. Informal To close (the lips or mouth): Button your lip.

v.intr.

To be or be capable of being fastened with buttons: The blouse buttons up the back.

Phrasal Verb:

button up

1. To fasten one's clothing tightly, as against cold weather.

2. To close or seal securely: button up the cabin for winter.

3. To complete the final details of: "Publication is a couple of months off; they're just buttoning up paperback rights" (Donald Dale Jackson).

Idiom:

on the button

Exactly; precisely.

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[Middle English, from Old French bouton, from bouter, to thrust, of Germanic origin; see bhau- in Indo-European roots.]

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button·er n.

button·y adj.

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buttons [ˈbʌt^ənz]

n

(Business / Professions) (functioning as singular) Brit informal a page boy