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
J. C. HarschExamples of panic button in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The witness pushed the store’s panic button and called 911.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024
Hare was not responding to radio traffic and later appeared to have been able to depress a panic button common on police radios, alerting colleagues to his situation, Weisler said.
—Doha Madani, NBC News, 17 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for panic button 
Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024
Hare was not responding to radio traffic and later appeared to have been able to depress a panic button common on police radios, alerting colleagues to his situation, Weisler said.
—Doha Madani, NBC News, 17 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for panic button
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'panic button.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Panic button.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/panic%20button. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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