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
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.
One I do buttonhole, Robert, a 14-year-old who's just been for a swim, says he loves his fatbike for the freedom it gives him but he has "kept it legal" and doesn't do "stupid" stuff.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026
They have lunches, meet at conferences, buttonhole departmental women visitors, set up private Facebook pages and Slack channels, and are all over Twitter.
From Scientific American • Mar. 25, 2022
This opens the floor to everyone who has ideas — not just those with the loudest voices or the chutzpah to buttonhole leaders in passing to pitch their ideas.
From Washington Post • Mar. 24, 2022
“Keith defined the industry he covered,” wrote Mr. Murdoch, whom Mr. Kelly in fact was known to buttonhole boldly in elevators and shake down for information like anyone else.
From New York Times • Jul. 31, 2021
Only Basta wore a snow-white shirt, just as Dustfinger had said, with a red flower in the buttonhole of his jacket, a red flower like a warning.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
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.
