button-down
[buht-n-doun]
- (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.
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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
Examples from the Web for button-down
Contemporary Examples
She often dressed casually in button-down shirts, sweaters, and skinny jeans.
They are neither formal nor distant, the button-down shirts open at the collar signaling vulnerability rather than posturing.
Mitt will give a pitch-perfect, button-down speech accepting the GOP nomination Thursday night.
Cain, who is 65, is balding and bespectacled; he was wearing a white sweater vest and a button-down shirt.
button-down
- (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
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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