buttonhole
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
buttonhole
- /ˈbʌtənˌhoʊl/ US
Where it comes from
Originally buttonhold (“a loop of string to hold a button down”), but changed by folk etymology by influence of hole. By surface analysis, button + hole.
noun buttonholes · buttonhold · button-hole · button hole
- A hole through which a button is pushed to secure a garment or some part of one.
-
A flower worn in a buttonhole for decoration.
Similar: boutonniere
-
So shaped that it can be worn on a buttonhole or it is similar to a buttonhole.
Similar: boutonniere
- A small slotlike cut or incision, made for example by an accident with the scalpel. The usual cause of conjunctival buttonholes is penetration of the tissue by the tip of a sharp instrument […]
- The mouth, nose or eyes of a tiny appearance.
-
The vagina, a coin slot.
Similar: axe wound, bearded clam, beaver, berk, bonne bouche, box, bun, bush, cavern, clunge, coin slot, cooch
-
The butthole (anus).
Similar: a-hole, anus, arsehole, arse, asscunt, asshole, asspussy, ass, back alley, back door, back passage, balloon knot
verb buttonholes · buttonholing · buttonholed · buttonhold · button-hole
- To detain (a person) in conversation against their will. He backed Mr. Lykins against an iron fence, buttonholed him, fastened him with his eye, like the ancient mariner, and proceeded to unfold his narrative as placidly and peacefully as if we were all stretched comfortably in a blossomy summer meadow instead of being persecuted by a wintry midnight temp
- To cut one or more buttonholes (in).
- To sew by buttonhole stitch.
- To make a small slot-like incision in (intentionally or unintentionally).
- To apply a flowery formation in. What tree of more pulchritude and symmetricalness could you nominate for roadside, street and public park planting than the graceful linden? We should possess more of the spirit which predominates in this direction in the crowning gem of America’s constitutionality—the City of Washington, D. C. ‘‘Un
- To attain buttonhole-like formations on cutting. Furze cut it himself after his dinner, with great care and concentrated solemnity, finding the loaf rather too new and the knife too blunt for the carving of slices of ideal thinness. The beastly things would buttonhole!
Translations
Every language
noun flower worn in the buttonhole for decoration
| Français | boutonnière |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Boutonniere |
| Русский | бутонье́рка butonʹjérka |
noun hole for a button
| Español | ojal |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ボタン穴 botan-ana |
| 中文 | 紐孔 /纽孔 niǔkǒng |
| हिन्दी | काज kāj |
| Português | casa de botão, casa, botoeira |
| Français | boutonnière |
| Deutsch | Knopfloch |
| Italiano | occhiello, asola |
| Ελληνικά | κουμπότρυπα koumpótrypa |
| Русский | пе́тля pétlja, петля́ petljá, петли́ца petlíca |
| العربية | عُرْوَة ʕurwa |
| עברית | חור כפתור, אִבְקָה |
verb to detain a person in conversation
| Español | cazar al espartillo |
|---|---|
| Français | tenir la jambe |
| Italiano | attaccare un bottone |
| Русский | держать за пуговицу deržatʹ za pugovicu |
Talk about this word "buttonhole." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/buttonhole. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. buttonhole. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/buttonhole "buttonhole." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/buttonhole.Cite this
@misc{buttonhole_2026,
title = {buttonhole},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/buttonhole},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
