button

The word “button” means a small disc sewn onto clothing and pushed through a hole to fasten it. In plain terms, a small fastener on clothes, or a switch you press — physical or on a screen.

“Button” is pronounced BUH-tuhn (/ˈbʌtən/ in IPA).

Here is “button” used in a sentence: “One of the buttons popped off his shirt at the gym.”

Depending on how it is used, “button” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “button” comes from Old French. From Old French bouton ("bud, knob"), from bouter ("to push, thrust") — a button is literally something that "pushes" through a hole.

“Button” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Button” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a small disc sewn onto clothing and pushed through a hole to fasten it.

A button is a small disc that fastens clothing by passing through a slit called a buttonhole. A snap, or press stud, has two interlocking parts that click together under pressure. Buttons are sewn on and threaded through; snaps simply press shut, needing no hole.

Clothing buttons are made from many materials, including plastic, metal, wood, bone, glass, and shell such as mother-of-pearl. Plastic is the most common today because it is cheap and durable. Finer garments may use metal or natural shell buttons for a more premium look.

Yes. By extension from the clothing fastener, a button is also a small part you press to work a device, like a doorbell or a keyboard, and an on-screen button you click on a website or app. This entry covers the original sewn clothing fastener.

A buttonhole is the small, reinforced slit or loop that a button passes through to fasten a garment. It is usually stitched around the edges to stop fraying. Button and buttonhole work as a pair: without the hole, the button has nothing to fasten to.