push the button
Trigger the mechanism
To push the button is to initiate something decisive or irreversible—launching a missile, starting a process, triggering a response.
The phrase evokes Cold War imagery of nuclear launch controls, where one action could end everything: Who has the authority to push the button?
More loosely, it means to provoke someone by targeting their sensitivities: He knows exactly how to push my buttons.
- activateCause to function
- pressApply force downward
- leverPivoting bar for lifting
- nuclear codesMissile authorization credentials
- switchCircuit-breaking toggle device
initiate · click · tap · decide · touch · start · execute · commit · finger · finalize · greenlight · call to action · fight or flight · set off · launch · point of no return · no turning back · trigger
push the buttonhold back
Prevent forward movement
hesitate · refrain · do nothing · stand down · wait
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