unbutton
Americanverb (used with object)
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unbuttons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unbuttoned,
past participle, past
-
unbuttoning
present participle
-
to free (buttons) from buttonholes; unfasten or undo.
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to unfasten by or as if by unbuttoning.
to unbutton a jacket.
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to disclose (one's feelings, thoughts, etc.) after deliberate or prolonged silence.
verb (used without object)
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unbuttons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unbuttoned,
past participle, past
-
unbuttoning
present participle
verb
-
to undo by unfastening (the buttons) of (a garment)
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informal to release or relax (oneself, tension, etc)
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unbuttonsimple
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unbuttonssimple
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have unbuttonedperfect
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has unbuttonedperfect
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am unbuttoningprogressive
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are unbuttoningprogressive
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is unbuttoningprogressive
-
have been unbuttoningperfect progressive
-
has been unbuttoningperfect progressive
Past
-
unbuttonedsimple
-
had unbuttonedperfect
-
was unbuttoningprogressive
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were unbuttoningprogressive
-
had been unbuttoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unbutton
First recorded in 1275–1325, unbutton is from the Middle English word unbotenen. See un- 2, button
Explanation
When you unbutton something, you unfasten or open it, the way you unbutton your coat before you take it off. To undo the buttons on a piece of clothing is to unbutton it. If your formal clothes feel uncomfortable, you might take off your tie and unbutton your top shirt button. You can also figuratively unbutton, by becoming more relaxed and uninhibited: "Kick off your shoes and unbutton a little — we're at the beach!" Unbutton comes from adding un-, "opposite of," to the verb button, "fasten with buttons."
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.
See Examples For:
As things get hot the temptation is to ditch the layers, get out the shorts and unbutton the flowery shirt.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
The best tips were about using words first: “I need to unbutton your gown because I’m going to be scanning your chest, but I’ll keep you covered with this towel.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
Then McEnany laughed and asked her co-hosts for permission to unbutton what had become her too-tight blazer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2025
Emily, Maplewood, NJ, creative director: I sit down in my office, close the door, and unbutton the uncomfortable pants I mistakenly decided to put on so I wouldn’t be in pajamas all day.
From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2020
How good it felt to drop his heavy satchel, unbutton the starched white shirt, tear off those stiff school shorts, and jump into the refreshing water!
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
“She always does a really good job of changing his look just a little bit. He’s now more comfortable in his skin, so his bodyguard outfit is more fitted. He unbuttons the top button.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2022
He has paced the sideline with the same vigor he played with, often sweating so much that he unbuttons his shirt and removes his tie in the second half.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 19, 2021
Proving how serious he is, he unbuttons his three shirt buttons and greets the groom with a very sincere, “What’s upppp.”
From Time ● Jan. 25, 2016
Five weeks later, in a heatwave, the Rhinoceros unbuttons his skin and goes for a swim.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 4, 2013
He unbuttons his sweater, as if agreeing with me about the temperature.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
He was wearing a white shirt that was unbuttoned.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
She was spotted on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon earlier this year wearing a black dress and heels, while her husband showed up in ripped jeans and an unbuttoned shirt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025
Sweat, who is 70, has a golfer’s tan, flinty eyes, and a shirt unbuttoned just a little too far.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2025
At a backyard disco party he threw recently, Zuckerberg wore a sequin floral bomber jacket over a drapey shirt unbuttoned to the mid-stomach.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2024
He unbuttoned his seersucker jacket, as though he needed greater body freedom for the discussion.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
After unbuttoning his jersey to unveil an “I’m From Cleveland” T-shirt, Kelce wound up and then bounced his pitch halfway to the plate.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 7, 2023
“Most people don’t mind loosening their sleeve or unbuttoning their shirt slightly.”
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2021
Goldblum has suggested in interviews that this great unbuttoning was spontaneous, but whether it is, the effect is the same.
From New York Times ● Jul. 2, 2020
It both made sense and made no sense at all, and I tried to imagine those dads, composing their notes and then calmly unbuttoning their shirts and heeling away their shoes.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 29, 2014
In his anger Tayo imagined movie images of himself turning the pockets of his jeans inside out, unbuttoning his shirt to prove he had stolen nothing.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
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.
