panic button

noun

: something setting off a precipitous emergency response

There was no pushing of panic buttons at the White House, no rushing of troops.

—J. C. Harsch

Examples of panic button in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In exchange, the commanding officer, Kevin Taylor, pressured NYPD officials and City Council members to award the contracts to procure goods and services from the company, which sells panic buttons to school systems, according to an indictment. —Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 13 Feb. 2026

Fire and smoke listener alerts and bedside panic buttons add another layer of protection, especially overnight. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 4 Feb. 2026

Superintendent David Buck pointed to a deadly school shooting in Barrow County, Georgia, in 2024, in which school staff wore similar panic buttons that alerted law enforcement as shots were being fired in a high school. —Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2026

Heupel also pushed the panic button a bit on defense by firing defensive coordinator Tim Banks and bringing in Jim Knowles. —Seth Emerson, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for panic button

• clutton
• glutton
• mutton
• witan
• unbutton