Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

buttonholed

  • past participle
    of buttonhole.
    buttonhole
    noun
    the hole, slit, or loop through which a button is passed and by which it is secured.
  • past tense form
    of buttonhole.
    buttonhole
    noun
    the hole, slit, or loop through which a button is passed and by which it is secured.

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.

See Examples For:

Tegmark buttonholed Elon Musk at a 2014 MIT conference on space, after one of his students asked a question that prompted the billionaire’s now-famous quip that, with AI, “we are summoning the demon.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 4, 2026

So she buttonholed Rubinstien while he was out walking his dog, a pit bull mix named Chubbs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2023

Resident Caroline Aguirre, a retired parole agent, said she buttonholed one courier trying to deliver a bag marked with the name James on it and explained the order wasn’t for her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2023

Seeing the minister walk back in, Oumar buttonholed her and asked what would become of their proposals.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2021

When he got back ashore, he walked up to a reporter at the shell house, buttonholed him, and rendered a startling verdict: “Tom Bolles has a fine rough-water boat,” he said quietly but forcefully.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown