Panic Button with button

White text on a red background with a white button underneath

A panic button is generally a device one presses and activates when one wants to quickly put an extreme measure into action. Pressing the panic button is often reserved for emergency situations as is the case for car alarms, medical alerts, and home burglary systems. Activating these can summon an emergency operator or other authorities depending on the type of panic button used. Panic buttons can also be pressed for much more serious scenarios, even setting a nuclear weapons system into motion for the rapid deployment of powerful bombs and missiles.

In pop culture, there are a number of references to the panic button including pin-back buttons bearing the word “PANIC” and computer keyboard adhesives that dress one key in red and turn it into a non-functional panic button.