unbutton
/ʌnˈbʌtən/verb
unbutton is spelled U-N-B-U-T-T-O-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 79,518th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, unbutton means “To open (something) by undoing its buttons” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unbutton?
| Letters | 8: U-N-B-U-T-T-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 79,518th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is unbutton?
Unbutton appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 79,518th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unbutton?
- /ʌnˈbʌtən/
Unbutton has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-unbutton.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unbutton
- unbuttons present, singular, he/she/it
- unbuttoning participle, present
- unbuttoned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unbutton mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To open (something) by undoing its buttons.
- 2
To come open by having its buttons unfastened.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unbutton in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense (transitive):
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | déboutonner |
| German | aufknöpfen |
| Portuguese | desabotoar |
| Spanish | desabotonar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unbutton come from?
From Middle English onbottonen, unbotonen; equivalent to un- + button.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).