button
noun
a small disk, knob, or the like for sewing or otherwise attaching to an article, as of clothing, serving as a fastening when passed through a buttonhole or loop.
were buttoning
-
past progressiveof button.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
General Ho Ying-chin, dignified chief of the Government's Military Affairs Commission at Peiping, asked himself what he and other high officers could do for China while simple soldiers were buttoning themselves up.
From Time Magazine Archive
One by one, they fluttered their wings and stayed still, as if they were buttoning up whoever stood in the shadows.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
But Melky rose and, shaking his head, buttoned up his overcoat as if he were buttoning in a multitude of profound secrets.
From The Orange-Yellow Diamond by J. S. (Joseph Smith) Fletcher
So the girls began to dress, and in a very few minutes they were buttoning each other's frocks and tying each other's hair ribbons.
From Marjorie's Maytime by Carolyn Wells
Then when Ewan was six years old, and Danny and Mona were five, and the boys were buttoning their own corduroys, the Deemster came over from Ballamona and broke up the little nest of humming-birds.
From The Deemster by Sir Hall Caine
