What does "button" mean?
A knob or disc that is passed through a loop or (buttonhole), serving as a fastener.
Button
/[ˈbətn̩]/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A knob or disc that is passed through a loop or (buttonhole), serving as a fastener.
- Grammar: button is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: push, a continental, a curse, a damn.
- Useful contrasts: zippy, boutonnière, cufflink.
- Usage evidence: You have only to touch the button.
How to use "button"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "button" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "button" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "button" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "button" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "button" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "push" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "button", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A knob or disc that is passed through a loop or (buttonhole), serving as a fastener.
"I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me. I look upon notoriety with the same indifference as on the buttons on a man's shirt-front, or the crest on his note-paper."
- 2 a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc. to fit through buttonholes wordnet
- 3 A mechanical device designed to be pressed with a finger in order to open or close an electric circuit or to activate a mechanism.
"Pat pushed the button marked "shred" on the blender."
- 4 any artifact that resembles a button wordnet
- 5 An on-screen control that can be selected as an activator of an attached function.
"Click the button that looks like a house to return to your browser's home page."
Show 36 more definitions
- 6 an electrical switch operated by pressing wordnet
- 7 A badge worn on clothes, fixed with a pin through the fabric. US
"The politician wore a bright yellow button with the slogan "Vote Smart" emblazoned on it."
- 8 a device that when pressed will release part of a mechanism wordnet
- 9 A bud.
"O queen Emilia, / Fresher than May, sweeter / Than her gold buttons on the boughs,"
- 10 a specific area or icon in graphical user interface systems that is clicked or pressed in order to select a command or perform an action wordnet
- 11 The calyx of an orange.
"Not well healed, or aggregating more than a circle 14 inch in diameter on a 200 size orange. More than a few adjacent to the "button" at the stem end or more than 6 scattered on other portions of the fruit."
- 12 a female sexual organ homologous to the penis wordnet
- 13 The head of an unexpanded mushroom.
- 14 a round flat badge displaying information and suitable for pinning onto a garment wordnet
- 15 The clitoris. slang
- 16 any of various plant parts that resemble buttons wordnet
- 17 The center (bullseye) of the house.
- 18 The soft circular tip at the end of a foil.
- 19 A plastic disk used to represent the person in last position in a poker game; also dealer's button.
- 20 The player who is last to act after the flop, turn and river, who possesses the button.
- 21 A person who acts as a decoy. archaic
- 22 A raised pavement marker to further indicate the presence of a pavement-marking painted stripe.
- 23 The end of a runway.
"In attempting to touch down on the button of the runway, he misjudged his altitude and struck a pile of rocks short of the runway. The right wheel was torn off and the gear leg bent backwards."
- 24 A methaqualone tablet (used as a recreational drug). South-Africa, slang
- 25 A piece of wood or metal, usually flat and elongated, turning on a nail or screw, to fasten something, such as a door.
- 26 A globule of metal remaining on an assay cupel or in a crucible, after fusion.
- 27 A knob; a small ball; a small, roundish mass.
- 28 A small white blotch on a cat's coat.
- 29 A unit of length equal to ¹⁄₁₂ inch. UK, archaic
- 30 The means for initiating a nuclear strike or similar cataclysmic occurrence.
"It's Christmas at ground zero / The button has been pressed / The radio / Just let us know / That this is not a test"
- 31 The oblate spheroidal mass of glass attaching a stem to either its bowl or foot.
- 32 In an instrument of the violin family, the near-semicircular shape extending from the top of the back plate of the instrument, meeting the heel of the neck.
- 33 Synonym of endbutton, part of a violin-family instrument.
- 34 Synonym of adjuster.
- 35 The least amount of care or interest; a whit or jot.
"'She has heard from us this morning,' said Mr. Gamble, grinning on his watch, 'and she knows all by this time, and 'tisn't a button to her.'"
- 36 The punchy or suspenseful line of dialogue that concludes a scene.
"One thing you definitely don't want to do is write past the button. For example, a scene's natural button might run something like this: TONY: That kind of talk is exactly what I'm talking about. Whereas an example of writing past the button would sound something like this: TONY: That kind of talk is exactly what I'm talking about. CARMELLA: Okay. 'Bye. TONY: Bye."
- 37 The final joke at the end of a comedic act (such as a sketch, set, or scene).
"Scenes usually go out on a laugh line, a stinger or a button. End your script with a twist!"
- 38 A button man; a professional assassin. slang
"FREDO: Mikey, why would they ever hit poor old Frankie Five-Angels? I loved that ole sonuvabitch. I remember when he was just a 'button,' when we were kids."
- 39 The final segment of a rattlesnake's rattle.
"Hardly a rattler is ever reported in the newspapers unless it is stated to have had "blank rattles and a button". But here button usually means the terminal lobe of the last rattle, even though the string may not be complete, the true button and additional rattles having been lost."
- 40 A clove (of garlic). Southern-US, dated
- 41 Pedicle; the attachment point for antlers in cervids.
Verb
- 1 To fasten with a button. transitive
"He was a tall, fat, long-bodied man, buttoned up to the throat in a tight green coat."
- 2 fasten with buttons wordnet
- 3 To be fastened by a button or buttons. intransitive
"The coat will not button."
- 4 provide with buttons wordnet
- 5 To stop talking. informal
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname originating as an occupation for a maker or seller of buttons.
- 2 Alternative form of Buton (“Indonesian island”). alt-of, alternative
- 3 A township in Ford County, Illinois, United States.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"You have only to touch the button."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "button"?
Common synonyms include: push, a continental, a curse, a damn, a darn, a hoot.
How do you use "button" in a sentence?
You have only to touch the button.
How do you pronounce "button"?
Pronounced /[ˈbətn̩]/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English boton, botoun, from Old French boton (Modern French bouton), from Old French bouter, boter (“to push; thrust”), ultimately from a Germanic language. Doublet of bouton, Biden, and beat. More at butt.
Etymology 2
From Middle English butonen, botonen, from the noun (see above).