Dictionary

unbutton en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ʌnˈbʌtən/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English onbottonen, unbotonen; equivalent to un- + button.

Meanings

1. (ambitransitive) To open (something) by undoing its buttons.
   • "Mr Baxter, I think?" said the latter. He had laid aside his dripping umbrella and was unbuttoning overcoat and coat to reach an inner pocket. 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
   • Being now too high wound up to bear a delay, he unbutton'd, and drawing out the engine of love-assaults, drove it currently, as at a ready-made breach 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
2. (ergative, intransitive) To come open by having its buttons unfastened.
   • He was so muscled and firm, and the canvas shirt under his jacket unbuttoned easily. 2010, Janet Chapman, Tempt Me If You Can, page 70:

Forms

Deriveds

unbuttonable

Relateds

unbuttoned

Translations (16)

el ξεκουμπώνω ((transitive)) · fi avata napit ((transitive)) · pt desabotoar ((transitive)) · es desabotonar ((transitive)) · gl desabotoar ((transitive)) · bg откопчавам ((transitive)) · it sbottonare ((transitive)) · ru расстёгивать ((transitive)) · de aufknöpfen ((transitive)) · io desbutonagar ((transitive)) · ro descheia ((transitive)) · tr çözmek ((transitive)) · sv knäppa upp ((transitive)) · ca desbotonar ((transitive)) · fr déboutonner ((transitive)) · ru расстегну́ть ((transitive))