Buttonhole
['bʌt(ə)nhəʊl] or ['bʌtnhol]
Definition
(n.) The hole or loop in which a button is caught.
(v. t.) To hold at the button or buttonhole; to detain in conversation to weariness; to bore; as, he buttonholed me a quarter of an hour.
Edited by Horace
Examples
- These machines mark an important departure, which consists in working the buttonhole by moving the stitch forming mechanism about the buttonhole, instead of moving the fabric. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- A buttonhole does not strike the average person as a thing of any importance whatever. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The machine first cuts the buttonhole, then transfers it to the stitching devices, which stitch and bar the buttonhole, finishing it entirely in an automatic manner. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- You must look round at my roses, and the finest bud of the garden will adorn your buttonhole as 'a reward for your determination. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- For cheapening the cost of buttonholes, and reducing the hand labor, various buttonhole machines and attachments to sewing machines have been devised. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Sweeting alone received the posy like a smart, sensible little man, as he was, putting it gallantly and nattily into his buttonhole. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I'll do my best to gratify you, Sir, was Laurie's unusually dutiful reply, as he carefully unpinned the posy Jo had put in his buttonhole. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- She does her own hair, and I am teaching her to make buttonholes and mend her stockings. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- For cheapening the cost of buttonholes, and reducing the hand labor, various buttonhole machines and attachments to sewing machines have been devised. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
Editor: Whitney