buttonhole

US/ˈbʌtənˌhoʊl/

nounB2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,615 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: buttonholes

A buttonhole is the slit a button passes through. Stitch the buttonhole, a flower in his buttonhole, a fraying buttonhole.

It must be sewn round or it frays open, and a hand-worked one is a mark of a good tailor. In Britain a buttonhole is also the flower worn in the lapel at a wedding. As a verb, to buttonhole somebody is to corner them and make them listen.

Definitions of buttonhole

1nounbuttonholeThe slit a button passes through.B2
“The button kept slipping out because the buttonhole was too big.”

buttonhole is an opening.

Where it comes from

Originally buttonhold, a loop that held a button, reshaped towards hole.

Built from

buttonhold · English — a loop of string to hold a button down

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Knitting & Sewing

Practise this word

buttonhole in the wild

Common stitches found in early embroidery include the chain stitch, buttonhole or blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, and cross stitch.
Embroidery
A button () is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole.
Button
Simple pinprick designs are created by leaving gaps, or holes, in the otherwise plain cloth work formed by the buttonhole stitches.
Hollie point
A buttonhole is a reinforced hole in fabric that a button can pass through, allowing one piece of fabric to be secured to another.
Buttonhole
The raw edges of a buttonhole are usually finished with stitching.
Buttonhole

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the buttonhold family

buttonhole

buttonhole — used about once every 15,236 pages · #12,615 · point at the bar for the others

← Vocabulary

buttonhole

US/ˈbʌtənˌhoʊl/

nounB2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,615 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: buttonholes

A buttonhole is the slit a button passes through. Stitch the buttonhole, a flower in his buttonhole, a fraying buttonhole.

Definitions of buttonhole

1nounbuttonholeThe slit a button passes through.B2
“The button kept slipping out because the buttonhole was too big.”

buttonhole is an opening.

Where it comes from

Originally buttonhold, a loop that held a button, reshaped towards hole.

Built from

buttonhold · English — a loop of string to hold a button down

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Knitting & Sewing

Practise this word

buttonhole in the wild

Common stitches found in early embroidery include the chain stitch, buttonhole or blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, and cross stitch.
Embroidery
A button () is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole.
Button
Simple pinprick designs are created by leaving gaps, or holes, in the otherwise plain cloth work formed by the buttonhole stitches.
Hollie point
A buttonhole is a reinforced hole in fabric that a button can pass through, allowing one piece of fabric to be secured to another.
Buttonhole
The raw edges of a buttonhole are usually finished with stitching.
Buttonhole

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the buttonhold family

buttonhole

buttonhole — used about once every 15,236 pages · #12,615 · point at the bar for the others