verb
- to stop and detain someone in conversation, especially when they are trying to leave
Usage: informal
Examples
- I was buttonholed by my neighbor for twenty minutes about his garden.
- She buttonholed the senator after the meeting to discuss her concerns.
- He tried to leave the party early but got buttonholed by his boss.
- The reporter buttonholed the celebrity outside the restaurant.
- I was buttonholed by a salesman at the store entrance.
- She buttonholed me in the hallway to complain about the new policy.