button up
Britishverb
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to fasten (a garment) with a button or buttons
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informal to conclude (business) satisfactorily
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slang taciturn; silent and somewhat tense
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Close securely, fasten, as in The house was all buttoned up , or Button up your coat—it's very cold . [Late 1500s]
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Also, button one's lip . Hold one's tongue, keep quiet. For example, Please button your lip about the surprise . A variant of this usage, button one's mouth , dates from the 17th century. [Mid-1800s]
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Finish successfully, as in I've got this report all buttoned up . [c. 1940]
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.
Taylor wore the coat fully buttoned up, ready to throw it off for a dramatic reveal later in the evening.
From Los Angeles Times
"With the overtake mode, the driver behind can use the boost button up to I think 330km/h, where the guy in the front can only use it to 290km/h," Russell said.
From BBC
Aunt Kitty started up with her tsk-tsking as she fastened the row of buttons up the back, but I would have none of it.
From Literature
He gets a lot of credit for bringing personality to a very buttoned up and scripted media.
From Los Angeles Times
I think I hold the most back when I’m interviewing people on the red carpet, because I know I have to be buttoned up, and it’s about them.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
