panic button
Americannoun
idioms
noun
-
a button or switch that operates any of various safety devices, for use in an emergency
-
informal to react to a situation by demanding emergency action; become excited; panic
Etymology
Origin of panic button
Allegedly first used in reference to emergency bell systems on World War II bombers such as the B-17 and B-24
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.
This week’s software-stock selloff feels like the latest reason to reach for the career panic button, unless you happen to be an artificial-intelligence developer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
He is also building a panic button into the digital wallet.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2026
No one is pushing a panic button just yet, though.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
Now Anthropic has provided one bot with a panic button just in case.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2025
The moment I pushed the panic button in the rover, there was an ear-popping whoosh as the pop-tent fired out, attached to the rover airlock.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
