button-down

[buht-n-doun]

See more synonyms for button-down on Thesaurus.com

adjective

(of a shirt collar) having buttonholes so it can be buttoned to the body of the shirt.
(of a shirt) having a button-down collar.
(of a shirt) having buttons down the front from the collar to the bottom.

Also buttoned-down. (especially of attitudes, opinions, etc.) extremely conventional; unimaginative.

Origin of button-down

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for button-down

boring, conformist, conservative, old-fashioned, strait-laced, stuffy, traditional, unimaginative

Examples from the Web for button-down

Contemporary Examples of button-down

She often dressed casually in button-down shirts, sweaters, and skinny jeans.
Teaching ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Chengdu, China
Matt Lombardi
May 20, 2013
They are neither formal nor distant, the button-down shirts open at the collar signaling vulnerability rather than posturing.
Naftali Bennett Wants You!
Don Futterman
December 25, 2012
Mitt will give a pitch-perfect, button-down speech accepting the GOP nomination Thursday night.
What If Mitt Romney Said What He Really Thought Thursday Night
Matt Latimer
August 30, 2012
Cain, who is 65, is balding and bespectacled; he was wearing a white sweater vest and a button-down shirt.
Pizza Guy for President!
Bryan Curtis
January 13, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for button-down

button-down

adjective

(of a collar) having points that are fastened to the garment with buttons
(of a shirt) having a button-down collar
Also: buttoned-down conventional or conservativea button-down corporate culture

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012