Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

on the button

Idioms  

  1. Exactly right, precisely, as in Her review of the book was right on the button, or We're supposed to be there at six o'clock on the button. This term may come from boxing, where a punch on the button means “a punch on the chin.” [Colloquial; c. 1900] Also see on the dot.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In response, Ap Iorwerth told the first minister to "keep her fingers on the button and keep up with what's going on".

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2025

The app also allows players to customize the lighting of the backlit joysticks with either a single color, multiple colors, prism colors or action, where the color changes based on the button input.

From Washington Times • Nov. 25, 2023

Law enforcement later found a single source of male DNA on the button snap of the Ka-Bar brand sheath, police have said since December.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 3, 2023

“It’s not like you just turn on the button, and you have vaccine ready, right? It takes time to get it done,” Kumar says.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 6, 2023

And soon enough, that’s what he was doing, nailing those vowels on the button, riding them from consonant to consonant, syllable to syllable, word to word.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.