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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:

Clare buttonholed Archer and, according to his own account, the would-be candidate burst into tears and asked that the story be quashed.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

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

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

All week he darted around the House floor, buttonholed defectors, hustled to talk to top McCarthy advisers and then ducked into at least a dozen closed-door meetings.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 7, 2023

On this occasion he buttonholed me to talk about the guided Everest expedition he was planning: I should come along, he cajoled, and write an article about the climb for Outside.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer