button

button — noun

1. a small round disc, often made from plastic, metal, or wood, attached by thread

1.nounB1
Definition

a small round disc, often made from plastic, metal, or wood, attached by thread to shirts, coats, and similar garments, and pushed through a small slit so the two sides hold together.

Example

Marcus lost the top button of his white school shirt during recess.

noun phrase: top button of [garment]

Lina sewed a spare wooden button onto her grandmother's old wool coat.

verb + button collocation: sew on a button

Common collocations
  • sew on a button
  • do up a button
  • undo a button
  • a button comes off
  • a loose button
Synonyms
  • fastener

    general term covering buttons, zips, hooks; less specific

  • stud

    a small button-like fastener, often decorative or used on cuffs

Grammar Patterns

button on/of [garment]

Usage Note

Frequently appears with verbs of fastening or breaking: sew on, do up, undo, pop off. Distinguish from sense 2 (a control on a device) — clothing buttons pass through a buttonhole, while machine buttons are pressed.

Common Mistakes

I clicked the button on my coat to close it.
I did up the button on my coat to close it.
clothing buttons are 'done up' or 'fastened', not 'clicked'.

2. a small part on a machine, remote control, or screen that you press or click in

2.nounB1
Definition

a small part on a machine, remote control, or screen that you press or click in order to make the device do something — for example, turning on a microwave, raising the volume, or sending an email.

Example

Maya pressed the green button on the microwave and waited for her soup.

press + the [color] button on [device]

Dad fumbled with the remote, hitting every button until the TV finally switched on.

hit every button (informal collocation)

Common collocations
  • press a button
  • push a button
  • click a button
  • tap a button
  • the power button
  • the play button
Synonyms
  • key

    for buttons on a keyboard or phone; flat and lettered

  • switch

    usually flips between two states (on/off), not pressed momentarily

  • control

    broader term for any device-operating part

Grammar Patterns

press/push the button

click the [name] button

Usage Note

Use 'press' or 'push' for physical buttons; use 'click' or 'tap' for buttons on a screen. Often modified by colour or function name (the red button, the Save button). Distinguish from sense 1 — these buttons are pressed, never sewn.

Common Mistakes

I sewed the play button to start the music.
I pressed the play button to start the music.
'sew' belongs to clothing buttons (sense 1).

3. a small flat round badge, usually metal or plastic, printed with a slogan, logo,

3.nounB2
Definition

a small flat round badge, usually metal or plastic, printed with a slogan, logo, or picture, that people pin to a jacket or bag to show which group, cause, or idea they support.

Example

Sarah wore a yellow campaign button on her backpack to support the mayor.

wear + a [topic] button on [item]

The volunteers handed out small buttons saying 'Vote 2024' outside the polling station.

buttons saying [slogan]

Common collocations
  • wear a button
  • pin on a button
  • a campaign button
  • a button saying [slogan]
Synonyms
  • badge

    the standard British term for the same object

  • pin

    informal American term, often interchangeable with button

Grammar Patterns

wear a button

a button saying/reading [text]

Usage Note

Mainly American English; British speakers usually say 'badge'. Subject is typically a person showing support for a cause, team, or campaign. Often modified by the topic: campaign button, protest button, fan button.

4. a soft cap, usually rubber or plastic, fitted to the point of a fencing sword so

4.noun
Definition

a soft cap, usually rubber or plastic, fitted to the point of a fencing sword so that the blade cannot pierce an opponent during practice or a match.

Example

Coach Tanaka checked that the button on each foil was firmly attached before the match.

the button on [a foil]

Lina lost a point when the button fell off her foil mid-bout.

Common collocations
  • the button of a foil
  • fit a button
  • lose a button
Synonyms
  • tip

    the broader term for the end of any sword; less specific

Grammar Patterns

the button of [a foil]

Usage Note

Strictly a fencing term — only used for the protective tip of a foil, épée, or sabre. Subject of a sentence is usually the equipment or a coach checking it.

Idioms

(as) bright as a button

idiom

Very intelligent and quick to learn or understand things.

Maya is as bright as a button and always finishes first.

The little girl, bright as a button, solved the puzzle quickly.

on the button

idiom

Exactly at the correct time or exactly as stated.

The train arrived at 9:00 on the button.

Your guess was right on the button; it's exactly 50 dollars.

push all the (right) buttons

idiom

To do exactly what is needed to make someone happy or satisfied.

The new café pushes all the right buttons with its cozy atmosphere.

Her speech pushed all the buttons for the audience, earning a standing ovation.

push somebody’s buttons

idiom

To cause a strong emotional reaction in someone, often intentionally.

Diego knows exactly how to push his sister's buttons.

Don't let him push your buttons; just stay calm.

button — verb

Word family

  • unbutton
    verbB2
  • buttoned
    adjectiveB2
  • buttonhole
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

These four words all name small controls on devices, but they are not interchangeable. A 'button' is pressed momentarily and usually springs back — think of a doorbell or the 'play' control on a phone screen. A 'key' is one of many flat, labelled controls arranged in a set, as on a computer keyboard or numeric keypad; you would not call a single elevator control a 'key'. A 'switch' typically flips between two stable positions, on and off, and stays where you leave it — a light switch is the classic example. A 'knob' is round and is turned, not pressed, to change a value such as volume or temperature on an old radio or oven. So you press a button, type a key, flip a switch, and turn a knob.

button ↗key ↗switch ↗knob

Common collocations

Nouns

  • shirt button
  • coat button
  • power button
  • play button
  • campaign button

Adverbs

Phrases

  • press a button
  • click a button
  • do up a button
  • button up your coat
  • at the push of a button

Prepositions

  • on (a shirt/device)
  • of (a foil)
  • with (a slogan/logo)

Etymology

GermanicOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word came into Middle English in the 1300s from Old French 'boton', meaning a bud on a plant or a small knob. The French word in turn grew from a Germanic root meaning 'to push out' or 'sprout'. Early English speakers used 'button' for any small rounded knob, and it gradually narrowed to the clothing fastener. The machine-control sense did not appear until the 19th century, when push-button mechanisms became common in factories and homes; the on-screen 'button' is a 20th-century borrowing of that idea into computer interfaces.