Definition, synonyms and related words
plural of button
"The old farmer joked that he'd have to clean out the pen before any more buttons fell from the ewes' backsides."
The dung of sheep.
In plain English: Buttons are small pieces of fabric or plastic that you press to fasten clothes or operate electronic devices.
"She fastened her coat with the metal buttons."
Usage: Buttons are small covers with holes used to attach or fasten clothing together. Do not confuse this common item with the archaic term for sheep droppings, which is rarely encountered in modern speech.
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of button
"He buttons his coat before stepping out into the cold wind."
In plain English: To button something is to fasten it by pushing small loops through holes with your fingers.
"She buttons her coat before stepping out into the cold."
Usage: Do not use the verb buttons to mean pressing fasteners; it is simply the third-person singular form of buttoning, such as she buttons her coat. Use this form only when the subject is he, she, or it performing the action of closing a garment with fasteners.
Derived from Old French bouton, meaning "bud" or "knob," the term originally referred to small round knobs on plants before being applied to fasteners made of similar shapes. The linguistic shift occurred as these plant parts became associated with the hard, rounded objects used in clothing.