Definition of Button-down

1. Adjective. Unimaginatively conventional. "A colorful character in the buttoned-down, dull-grey world of business"

Exact synonyms: Buttoned-down, Conservative
Similar to: Conventional

2. Adjective. Of a shirt; having the ends of the collar fastened down by buttons. "Brooks Brothers button-down shirts"
Similar to: Buttoned, Fastened

Definition of Button-down

1. Adjective. Of a collar, able to be buttoned down to the shirt, as over a necktie. ¹

2. Adjective. (idiomatic) Serious; staid; businesslike. ¹

3. Adjective. (idiomatic) Conservative; conventional; unimaginative. ¹

4. Noun. A shirt with a button-down collar ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Literary usage of Button-down

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Altova Xmlspy 2005 User & Reference Manual by Altova (2005)
"... MsgBox {"left mouse button down detected"); Declaration: button as long Description Specifies which mouse button is pressed: 0 No button is pressed. ..."

2. Sas/insight 9.1 User's Guide by SAS Institute, Institute SAS Institute (2004)
"To click, press the button down and release it without moving the mouse. ... To drag, press the leftmost mouse button down, move the mouse across the ..."

3. Electrical Railroading; Or, Electricity as Applied to Railroad Transportation by Sidney Aylmer-Small (1908)
"position it is not necessary to hold the button down to prevent application ... COASTING—Hold the button down and move controller handle to "Off" position. ..."

4. Therapeutic Gazette (1905)
"An assistant outside the pneumatic chamber then forces the female part of a Murphy .button down the esophagus by means of a sound into the stomach. ..."

5. The Horseless Age (1903)
"... and it was quite a strain to keep the foot button down to the proper point, and to overcome this I fitted up a simple ratchet device, directly over the ..."

6. The Practical Tool-maker and Designer: A Treatise Upon the Designing of by Herbert S. Wilson (1898)
"5 pushes the completed button down through the dial and into a box to receive it. Many buttons have the medallion or top folded on the under side enclosing ..."

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