button-down
Americanadjective
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(of a shirt collar) having buttonholes so it can be buttoned to the body of the shirt.
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(of a shirt) having a button-down collar.
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(of a shirt) having buttons down the front from the collar to the bottom.
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Also buttoned-down (especially of attitudes, opinions, etc.) extremely conventional; unimaginative.
adjective
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(of a collar) having points that are fastened to the garment with buttons
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(of a shirt) having a button-down collar
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Also: buttoned-down. conventional or conservative
a button-down corporate culture
Etymology
Origin of button-down
An Americanism dating back to 1930–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She is standing in front of The Barefoot Contessa with her dark hair coaxed into perky curls, wearing a matching aubergine button-down and skirt.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
She’s in full hair and makeup, dressed in a gray vest suit with a blue button-down underneath.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
“Margo has a favorite alien T-shirt. And then in an early episode, she has another button-down shirt that has an alien. Hopefully, the viewers notice that it’s in her subconscious.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Eugene Levert, chain-smoking next to a stack of books while wearing a vertical blue-striped button-down and khaki slacks, looked the scholarly mirror of Doug Lamplugh, in a horizontal blue-striped polo and khaki shorts.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
He’s kind of dressed up with a button-down shirt, but not a Darius and Ainsley kind of dressed up.
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
