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.
He stopped by the birthday party wearing his work uniform: a white, button-down shirt and black slacks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
You’d think that the night was done by the time he returns to the stage, soaking wet, having discarded the vest he wears over his white button-down shirt.
From Salon ● May 28, 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
In 1992, the cover of Vogue’s 100th anniversary issue featured supermodels dressed in Gap white button-down shirts and jeans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
He’s wearing a white button-down shirt with a tie, and his reddish-brown hair is neatly combed.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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.
