buttonhole

1 of 3

noun

but·​ton·​hole ˈbə-tᵊn-ˌhōl How to pronounce buttonhole (audio)
1
: a slit or loop through which a button is passed
2
chiefly British : boutonniere

buttonhole

2 of 3

verb (1)

buttonholed; buttonholing; buttonholes

transitive verb

1
: to furnish with buttonholes
2
: to work with buttonhole stitch
buttonholer noun

buttonhole

3 of 3

verb (2)

buttonholed; buttonholing; buttonholes

transitive verb

: to detain in conversation by or as if by holding on to the outer garments of

Did you know?

Buttonhole is easy to pin down as a noun referring to the slit or loop through which a button is passed to fasten something, but its shift to a verb meaning "to detain in conversation" requires some explanation. Buttonhole is an alteration of another verb now long out of use: buttonhold, which literally meant to hold on to the buttons or lapels of someone's coat when speaking to him or her. In the mid-19th century, English speakers altered the verb to buttonhole, perhaps as a result of hearing buttonhold as buttonholed. The overlap is apparent in an early instance of this spelling in an 1862 London publication called All Year Round: "The man who is button-holed, or held … and must listen to half an hour's harangue about nothing interesting."

Examples of buttonhole in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Washington — In December 2022, Paul Whelan was sitting in a factory at a Russian labor camp in Mordovia, more than seven hours east of Moscow, adding buttons and buttonholes to winter coats. Margaret Brennan, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2024 Every shirt in the label’s Gold Line involves 35 hours of detailed handwork, including buttonholes that take 45 minutes of stitching each. Martin Lerma, Robb Report, 4 Sep. 2024 The paper tags had been removed, but a few plastic fasteners remained, protruding from various buttonholes on his sleeves and chest. Simon Rich, The New Yorker, 6 May 2024 Place the button in its original position on the fabric, aligning it with the empty buttonholes. Maryal Miller Carter, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2024 Insert the needle through the backside of the fabric, bringing it up through one of the buttonholes. Maryal Miller Carter, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2024 The pregnancy hair tie trick of looping a hair tie through the buttonhole of your pants and tying it around the button didn’t last me through my entire pregnancy. Katrina Cossey, Parents, 9 Feb. 2024 There are minor imperfections (the topmost of the polo’s four buttonholes arrived unfinished and a touch ragged) and the shirt’s large, soft collar, the only option, gets helplessly flummoxed under even a light blazer. Josh Condon, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2023 Slip drapery rings through the buttonholes and then slide the rings on the curtain rod, or use curtain ring clips to attach the shower curtain. Megan Boettcher, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 May 2023
Verb
Outside, a vendor buttonholes him to ask about the twins. Nathan Heller, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2024 He then was buttonholed outside the hotel for his opinion on what happened. Bruce Haring, Deadline, 13 June 2024 At the late, lamented Toronado tavern, I was buttonholed by a stranger raving about Cellarmaker’s beers. Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2024 Getting buttonholed didn’t seem to bother Pence, either. T.a. Frank, Washington Post, 28 June 2023 Califf has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill to discuss President Biden’s budget request for the Food and Drug Administration, and the appearances give lawmakers a chance to buttonhole him on budget items as well as politically explosive issues that have nothing to do with the funding request. John Wilkerson, STAT, 19 Apr. 2023 The first time she was buttonholed by a consulting firm was freshman year. Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2023 Before the show, the accountants buttonholed stage managers Gary Natoli and John Esposito to clarify. Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2023 In March, when a vote on coronavirus aid was delayed several hours, Ms. Gillibrand used that time to meander from one senator’s hideaway office near the Senate floor to the next to buttonhole them on the issue. New York Times, 27 Apr. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Verb (2)

alteration of buttonhold

First Known Use

Noun

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1852, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1848, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of buttonhole was in 1534

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near buttonhole

Cite this Entry

“Buttonhole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buttonhole. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

buttonhole

1 of 2 noun
but·​ton·​hole ˈbət-ᵊn-ˌhōl How to pronounce buttonhole (audio)
: a slit or loop for fastening a button

buttonhole

2 of 2 verb
buttonholed; buttonholing
: to detain in conversation by or as if by holding on to the clothes of
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!