button up

verb

"button-up" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“button up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To fasten with a button or buttons.

Corpus desk

Index EN-button-up · button up · English

button up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for button up
PropertyValue
Headwordbutton up
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “button up” in English

button upsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

button up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for button up in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is button up, spelled B-U-T-T-O-N- -U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To fasten with a button or buttons.
  2. 2
    To fasten all the buttons on a coat, or similar item of clothing, to keep warm.
  3. 3
    To conclude; to finalize; to put the finishing touches (on).
  4. 4
    Alternative form of button up one's lip.
  5. 5
    To seal off (a military vehicle or facility).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how button up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Button up your shirt cuff. It has come undone.
  2. Button up well. It's freezing outside today.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "button up"?
"button up" is spelled B-U-T-T-O-N- -U-P.
What does "button up" mean?
As a verb, "button up" means: To fasten with a button or buttons.
What language does "button up" come from?
"button up" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list