buttoned-up
Americanadjective
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conservative, as in professional style or manner.
Employers are looking for buttoned-up types.
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carefully planned, operated, supervised, etc..
It's one of the most buttoned-up companies in the business.
Etymology
Origin of buttoned-up
First recorded in 1935–40
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.
Beast Industries in October launched its own clipping service, Vyro, after determining that a more buttoned-up version of this practice would appeal to larger, risk-averse marketers, according to Evan DeFilippis, general manager of Vyro.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
The shifting promises are unsurprising to colleagues familiar with the brash, quick-tempered Gorka, a gate crasher in Washington’s buttoned-up defense establishment.
From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2026
The disappearance of Guthrie, a crime that remains uncracked after more than three weeks, is the rare story that spans the breadth of tabloid gossip and buttoned-up newspaper reporting.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026
Notwithstanding a change of hair or profession, Demascus remains more or less himself as shapes shift around him — the protagonist, basically a good guy, a little buttoned-up, a little insecure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2025
I’ve walked around the campuses nearby, seen all the buttoned-up students with their books and their satchels and their studious expressions.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
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.
