press the button

To set in motion some momentous action, esp the launching of nuclear weapons against an enemy target

press¹ /pres/, also (all obsolete) preace, prease and preasse /prēs/

transitive verb

1. To exert a pushing force upon
2. To squeeze
3. To compress
4. To clasp
5. To thrust (something into or against something else)
6. To squeeze out, express (eg juice from fruit)
7. To iron (clothes)
8. To produce (a gramophone record) from a mould by a compressing process
9. To raise to the shoulders and then raise above the head (weightlifting)
10. To flatten and dry (flowers, set) or otherwise shape and condense by the application of weight or other squeezing force
11. To imprint, stamp, print (obsolete)
12. To put to death by application of heavy weights (historical)
13. (of troubles, etc) to bear heavily on, oppress
14. To harass
15. To beset
16. To urge strongly or insistently
17. To importune
18. To insist on
19. To invite with persistent warmth
20. To offer urgently or abundantly (with upon)
21. To present (eg a point) with earnestness, to impress on one's hearers
22. To lay stress upon
23. To hurry on with great speed, to expedite
24. To bring (charges) officially against someone (law)
25. To throng, crowd (archaic)

intransitive verb

1. To exert pressure or to push with force (with on, against, etc)
2. To crowd
3. To thrust oneself forward with violence (archaic)
4. To be urgent in application, entreaty, or effort (with for)
5. To strive (obsolete)
6. To strive or strain too hard, with a resulting loss of ease and effectiveness (sport)

noun

1. An act of pressing
2. Pressure
3. An apparatus or machine for flattening, compressing or otherwise forcing into shape, or for extracting juice, etc, or for punching solid articles from soft metal, clay, etc
4. A printing machine, a printing press
5. (the practice or process of) printing
6. A printing organization
7. Often extended to a publishing house
8. Printing activities
9. Newspapers and periodicals collectively
10. The journalistic profession
11. (with cap) a common name for a newspaper
12. (favourable or unfavourable) reception by newspapers and periodicals generally
13. A crowd, throng
14. The action of crowding or thronging
15. The thick of a fight
16. Stress (archaic)
17. Urgency, hurry (archaic)
18. A lift to shoulder level, then above the head (weightlifting)
19. A cupboard or shelved closet or recess
20. A bookcase

pressed adjective

1. Under pressure, in a hurry
2. (with for) short of (time or money; informal)

pressˈer noun

pressˈful noun

pressˈing noun

An article or articles, esp gramophone records, made from the same mould or press

adjective

1. Urgent
2. Importunate
3. Crowding

pressˈingly adverb

pression /preshˈən/ noun (rare)

1. Pressure
2. Impress

press agent noun

An agent who arranges for newspaper advertising and publicity, esp for an actor or theatre

press association noun

1. An association of newspapers formed to act as a news agency for the members of the association, each supplying local news, etc to the association
2. (with caps) a British news agency formed as a press association in 1868

press bed noun

A bed enclosed in a cupboard, or folding up into it

press book noun

A book printed at a private press

press box noun

A structure or area set aside for the use of reporters at sports, shows, etc

press button noun

A push-button

pressˈ-button adjective

press conference noun

A meeting of a public personage with the press for making an announcement or to answer questions

press council noun

A body set up to monitor and uphold standards in journalism

press cutting noun

A paragraph or article cut out of a newspaper or magazine

pressed day noun

The third day of a three days' visit

pressed glass noun

Glass given shape and pattern by pressure in a mould

press fastener noun

A press stud

pressˈfat noun (Bible)

The vat for collecting the liquor from an olive press or winepress

press gallery noun

A reporters' gallery at a sports stadium, theatre, etc

pressˈman noun

1. An operator of a printing press
2. (and pressˈwoman) a journalist or reporter

pressˈmark noun

A mark on a book to show its location in a library

press office noun

The department of an organization, government ministry, etc, responsible for releasing information concerning its activities to the press

press officer noun

press proof noun

The last proof before printing

press release noun

An official statement or report supplied to the press

pressˈroom noun

1. The room in which printing presses are housed and operated
2. A room for the use of journalists

press stud noun

A clothes-fastener consisting of complementary halves that interlock when pressed together

pressˈ-up noun

A gymnastic exercise performed face down, raising and lowering the body on the arms while keeping the trunk and legs rigid

pressˈwork noun

1. The operation of a printing press
2. Printed matter
3. Journalistic work

at press or in the press

1. In course of printing
2. About to be published

be hard pressed

To be at a loss (to manage something), be in a jam

go to press

To begin to print or to be printed

liberty or freedom of the press

The right of publishing material without submitting it to a government authority for permission

press ahead, forward or on

To continue, esp energetically, often in spite of difficulties or opposition

press flesh (or the flesh) (orig US; of politicians, etc)

To go about shaking hands with people, esp potential supporters (fleshˈ-pressing noun)

press of canvas or sail

As much sail as can be carried

press the button

1. To put machinery into operation
2. To start things moving, esp in a momentous or irreversible way

the press

1. Printed matter generally, esp newspapers
2. Journalists as a class