- a small round piece of metal, plastic, etc. that is sewn onto a piece of clothing and used for fastening two parts together
- (British English) to do up/undo your buttons
- (North American English) to button/unbutton your buttons
- to sew on a button
- shirt buttons
- a row of gilt buttons
- One of the buttons on his jacket was missing.
Extra ExamplesTopics Clothes and Fashiona2- My coat has lost a button.
- The top button of his shirt was undone.
- There was a button missing from his shirt.
- His fingers fumbled to do up/button the small buttons on his shirt.
- I need to sew this button back on.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- bottom
- top
- coat
- …
- button
- do up
- fasten
- …
- be missing
- come off
- a small part of a machine that you press to make it work
- the start/stop/pause button
- Adam pressed a button and waited for the lift.
- Choose ‘printer’ from the menu and click with the right mouse button.
- She pushed a button on the control panel.
- I hit the play button on the remote.
- The windows slide down at the touch of a button.
- With a push of a button, I can print out everything I need.
Extra ExamplesTopics Engineeringa2- She hit the alarm button as fast as she could.
- The remote control allows you to change channel at the touch of a button.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- on
- start
- off
- …
- click
- depress
- hit
- …
- at the touch of a button
- have your finger on
- keep your finger on
- …
- a small area on a computer screen that you click on to make it do something
- Click on the back button to go back to the previous screen.
- Click the ‘Finish’ button in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
- I hit the ‘Reply’ button in the mail toolbar.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- on
- start
- off
- …
- click
- depress
- hit
- …
- at the touch of a button
- have your finger on
- keep your finger on
- …
- (especially North American English) a badge, especially one with a message printed on it
- He wore a button saying ‘Life begins at 40!’
Extra Examples- She wore a ‘Vote Yes’ lapel button.
- The candidates all distributed campaign buttons and bumper stickers.
- They all wore buttons saying ‘Stop the war’.
- He carries around an old backpack with peace buttons on it.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- lapel
- campaign
- peace
- …
- wear
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French bouton, of Germanic origin and related to the verb butt.
Idioms
See button in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee button in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English(as) bright as a button
- (British English, informal) intelligent and quick to understandMore Like This Similes in idiomsSimiles in idioms
- (as) bald as a coot
- (as) blind as a bat
- (as) bright as a button
- (as) bold as brass
- as busy as a bee
- as clean as a whistle
- (as) dead as a/the dodo
- (as) deaf as a post
- (as) dull as ditchwater
- (as) fit as a fiddle
- as flat as a pancake
- (as) good as gold
- (as) mad as a hatter/a March hare
- (as) miserable/ugly as sin
- as old as the hills
- (as) pleased/proud as Punch
- as pretty as a picture
- (as) regular as clockwork
- (as) quick as a flash
- (as) safe as houses
- (as) sound as a bell
- (as) steady as a rock
- (as) thick as two short planks
- (as) tough as old boots
on the button (informal, especially North American English)
- at exactly the right time or at the exact time mentioned
- We arrived at 4 o'clock on the button.
- exactly right
- You're on the button there!
push all the (right) buttons
(also press all the (right) buttons especially in British English)
- (informal) to do exactly the right things to please somebody
- a new satirical comedy show that pushes all the right buttons
push somebody’s buttons
(also press somebody’s buttons especially in British English)
- (informal) to make somebody react in either a positive or a negative way
- I've known him for years, but I still don't know what pushes his buttons.
Check pronunciation:
button