push button
1
1.9
- noun
- /pʊʃ ˈbʌtən/
:
botón
- So it's a little push button, which doesn't work.
- push button locks
- push buttons to activate
Examples
-
A person operating the MRF is able to shut down the device by means of an emergency push-button in case of system malfunction.
Academic text (2000) -
Finished glass tubes are fed into the diamond grinding machine manually and held in place by pneumatic chucks activated by a push button.
Academic text (1995) -
Yes, sorry, this push button right here, push it in and then pop.
-
Customers should use the push button to operate automatic doors.
Fiction book (2002) -
Each is provided with a voting device, with push buttons ranging from 0 to 10.
Fiction book (2002) -
Did you know about the push-button phone working with the landline?
-
Loggers are programmable via push button or direct computer link.
Academic text (1997) -
The recorder has been designed to allow configurability from the front-panel push buttons and interactive program menu in six languages.
Academic text (1996) -
The subjects were instructed to keep the index and middle fingers of both hands resting on the appropriate push-buttons and to respond to the stimulus by pressing the corresponding push-button as quickly as possible.
Academic text (1992) -
Customers should use the push button to operate automatic doors.
Synonyms
730
1.0
A small part you press to make a machine or app do something
2
2.1
A button on a computer mouse you press to select or open items on the screen
A button on a door or wall you press to ring a bell at an entrance
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a small switch operated by pressing' is directly derivable from combining 'push' (apply force to move by pressing) with 'button' (a small device you press). This is a straightforward compositional noun-noun construction found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Push button comes from the simple idea of a small round button you push with your finger to make a machine start. So push button now means 'a small switch you press to control a device'.