buttonhole
Chiefly British. a boutonniere.
Surgery. a short, straight incision through the wall of a cavity or a canal.
to sew with a buttonhole stitch.
to make buttonholes in.
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.
Origin of buttonhole
1Other words from buttonhole
- but·ton·hol·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use buttonhole in a sentence
Then there instantly appeared on the laurel a pretty white flower, which Michael gathered and stuck into his button-hole.
The Red Fairy Book | VariousIn 1881, Reece invented a button-hole machine and Schmid a hand photographic camera.
Invention | Bradley A. FiskeJohn placed it in the button hole of the shirt bosom—but to fix it completely, required a hole on the opposite side.
I could see it very plainly through a button-hole in the cloak of the potentate who had seized me and hidden me in his pocket.
In Camp With A Tin Soldier | John Kendrick BangsIf she take me down, Ill take her up; yea, and take her down too, a button-hole lower.
British Dictionary definitions for buttonhole
/ (ˈbʌtənˌhəʊl) /
a slit in a garment, etc, through which a button is passed to fasten two surfaces together
a flower or small bunch of flowers worn pinned to the lapel or in the buttonhole, esp at weddings, formal dances, etc: US name: boutonniere
to detain (a person) in conversation
to make buttonholes in
to sew with buttonhole stitch
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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