Word.ws English Dictionary

buttoning up

buttoning up is the present participle and gerund of button up.

Meaning of button up

Verb

button up (third-person singular simple present buttons up, present participle buttoning up, simple past and past participle buttoned up)

  1. (transitive) To fasten with a button or buttons.
    • Button up your shirt cuff. It has come undone.
  2. (intransitive) To fasten all the buttons on a coat, or similar item of clothing, to keep warm.
    • Button up well. It's freezing outside today.
  3. (ambitransitive) To conclude; to finalize; to put the finishing touches (on).
    • It's time to button up the meeting.
  4. (US, ergative, slang, transitive) To seal off (a military vehicle or facility).
    • Once buttoned up, NORAD's operation center can survive for more than 30 days without aid from the outside world.1996, Airman, volume 40, page 6

Questions about buttoning up

What is buttoning up the present participle and gerund of?
Buttoning up is the present participle and gerund of button up.

Words near buttoning up in the dictionary

  1. buttonhooking
  2. buttonhooks
  3. buttoning
  4. buttoning one's lip
  5. buttoning through
  6. buttoning up
  7. buttoning up one's lip
  8. buttonings
  9. buttonize
  10. buttonized
  11. buttonizes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: buttoning up (page history and authors); button up (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “buttoning up.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/buttoning_up. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.