buttonhole
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to sew with a buttonhole stitch.
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to make buttonholes in.
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to hold by the buttonhole or otherwise abruptly detain (someone) in conversation.
The reporter tried to buttonhole the mayor for a statement on the bus strike.
noun
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a slit in a garment, etc, through which a button is passed to fasten two surfaces together
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US name: boutonniere. a flower or small bunch of flowers worn pinned to the lapel or in the buttonhole, esp at weddings, formal dances, etc
verb
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to detain (a person) in conversation
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to make buttonholes in
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to sew with buttonhole stitch
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has buttonholedperfect 3rd person singular
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have buttonholedperfect
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are buttonholingprogressive
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am buttonholingprogressive 1st person singular
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is buttonholingprogressive 3rd person singular
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buttonholingparticiple
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has been buttonholingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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buttonholessingular 3rd person
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have been buttonholingperfect progressive
Past
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had buttonholedperfect
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was buttonholingprogressive singular
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had been buttonholingperfect progressive
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buttonholedparticiple
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were buttonholingprogressive plural
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buttonholedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of buttonhole
Vocabulary lists containing buttonhole
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Buttonhole makers will get a cent and a half per hole.
From Time Magazine Archive
American Buttonhole and Overseaming Machine, without buttonhole parts, etc., price $60, for 25 subscribers and $100.
From Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 03, April 16, 1870 by Various
American Buttonhole and Overseaming Machine, price, $75, for 20 subscribers and $120.
From Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 03, April 16, 1870 by Various
No. 2 American Buttonhole and Overseaming Machine, without buttonhole parts, etc. price, 60, for 25 subscribers and 100.
From Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 02, April 9, 1870 by Various
Buttonhole stitch, which is well known in plain needlework, is very useful also in embroidery, besides being an important stitch in needlepoint lace.
From Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving by Christie, Grace
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
