on the button

but·ton

[buht-n]
noun
1.
a small disk, knob, or the like for sewing or otherwise attaching to an article, as of clothing, serving as a fastening when passed through a buttonhole or loop.
2.
anything resembling a button, especially in being small and round, as any of various candies, ornaments, tags, identification badges, reflectors, markers, etc.
3.
a badge or emblem bearing a name, slogan, identifying figure, etc., for wear on the lapel, dress, etc.: campaign buttons.
4.
any small knob or disk pressed to activate an electric circuit, release a spring, or otherwise operate or open a machine, small door, toy, etc.
5.
Botany. a bud or other protuberant part of a plant.
6.
Mycology.
a.
a young or undeveloped mushroom.
b.
any protuberant part of a fungus.
7.
Zoology. any of various small parts or structures resembling a button, as the rattle at the tip of the tail in a very young rattlesnake.
8.
Boxing Informal. the point of the chin.
9.
Also called turn button. a fastener for a door, window, etc., having two arms and rotating on a pivot that is attached to the frame.
10.
Metallurgy. (in assaying) a small globule or lump of metal at the bottom of a crucible after fusion.
11.
Fencing. the protective, blunting knob fixed to the point of a foil.
12.
Horology, crown ( def 19 ).
13.
Computers. (in a graphical user interface) any of the small, labeled areas upon which the user can click with a mouse to choose an option.
verb (used with object)
14.
to fasten with a button or buttons: She quickly buttoned her coat.
15.
to insert (a button) in a buttonhole or loop: He buttoned the top button of his shirt.
16.
to provide (something) with a button or buttons.
00:10
On the button is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
17.
to be capable of being buttoned: This coat buttons, but that one zips.
Idioms
18.
button up, Informal.
a.
Also, button one's lip. to become or keep silent.
b.
to fasten securely; close up: Within a short time, everything on the submarine was buttoned up.
c.
to fasten fully or put on, especially an outer garment: Button up before going out.
d.
to complete successfully; finish: The report is all buttoned up.
19.
have all one's buttons, Informal. to be mentally competent, alert, and sane; have all one's wits: At 106 she still has all her buttons.
20.
on the button, Informal. exactly as desired, expected, specified, etc.: The prediction for snow was right on the button.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English boto(u)n < Anglo-French: rosehip, button, stud; Middle French boton, equivalent to boter to butt3 + -on noun suffix

Related forms
but·ton·er, noun
but·ton·like, adjective
mis·but·ton, verb (used with object)
mis·but·toned, adjective
re·but·ton, verb (used with object)
well-but·toned, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To on the button
Collins
World English Dictionary
button (ˈbʌtən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a disc or knob of plastic, wood, etc, attached to a garment, etc, usually for fastening two surfaces together by passing it through a buttonhole or loop
2.  a small round object, such as any of various sweets, decorations, or badges
3.  a small disc that completes an electric circuit when pushed, as one that operates a doorbell or machine
4.  a symbolic representation of a button on the screen of a computer that is notionally depressed by manipulating the mouse to initiate an action
5.  biology any rounded knoblike part or organ, such as an unripe mushroom
6.  fencing the protective knob fixed to the point of a foil
7.  a small amount of metal, usually lead, with which gold or silver is fused, thus concentrating it during assaying
8.  the piece of a weld that pulls out during the destructive testing of spot welds
9.  rowing a projection around the loom of an oar that prevents it slipping through the rowlock
10.  (Brit) an object of no value (esp in the phrase not worth a button)
11.  slang intellect; mental capacity (in such phrases as a button short, to have all one's buttons, etc)
12.  informal on the button exactly; precisely
 
—vb
13.  to fasten with a button or buttons
14.  (tr) to provide with buttons
15.  (tr) fencing to hit (an opponent) with the button of one's foil
16.  button one's lip, button up one's lip, button one's mouth, button up one's mouth to stop talking: often imperative
 
[C14: from Old French boton, from boter to thrust, butt, of Germanic origin; see butt³]
 
'buttoner
 
—n
 
'buttonless
 
—adj
 
'buttony
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

button
mid-13c. (implied in botouner "button-maker"), from O.Fr. boton (Fr. bouton) "a button, bud" (12c.), from bouter, boter "to thrust" (see butt (v.)). Thus a button is, etymologically, something that pushes up, or thrusts out. The verb is late 14c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

button but·ton (bŭt'n)
n.
A knob-like structure, device, or lesion.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary

button definition


  1. n.
    the termination of a recitation; the punch line of a joke; a zinger. (The equivalent of a button punched to signal a response.) : When I got to the button, I realized that I had told the whole joke wrong.
  2. n.
    a police officer's badge or shield. : The guy flashed his button, so I let him in.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

on the button definition


and on the bean
  1. mod.
    exactly the right time or place; exactly the right amount. : He was there on time, right on the button. , That's the correct total. You hit it right on the bean.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

on the button

Exactly right, precisely, as in Her review of the book was right on the button, or We're supposed to be there at six o'clock on the button. This term may come from boxing, where a punch on the button means "a punch on the chin." [Colloquial; c. 1900] Also see on the dot.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Idioms & Phrases
on the dot
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