panic button

noun

: something setting off a precipitous emergency response
there was no pushing of panic buttons at the White House, no rushing of troopsJ. C. Harsch

Examples of panic button in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The group planned to install a panic button inside the bodega Wednesday so workers can immediately alert police if further violence breaks out again. Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 18 June 2025 Number one, for those who actually have the panic buttons and the direct communication to the police. Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025 The money, however, won’t be enough to equip all of the city’s 25,000 bodegas with panic buttons, and the United Bodegas Association is pressing for more city and state funding for the initiative. Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 18 June 2025 Universities can further increase safety measures by adopting technology with real-time threat detection and proactive monitoring in high-risk areas, like mobile safety apps with panic buttons and anonymous reporting capabilities that encourage students to submit threats to campus law enforcement. Kevin Mullins, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for panic button

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of panic button was in 1900

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Cite this Entry

“Panic button.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/panic%20button. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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