press someone's buttons

A form of push someone's buttons — To do specific things to anger someone (or, less commonly, to sexually arouse or otherwise elicit a strong reaction from them), especially intentionally or maliciously.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbto press someone's buttons (third-person singular simple present presses someone's buttons, present participle pressing someone's buttons, simple past and past participle pressed someone's buttons)

present singular third person presses someone's buttons · participle present pressing someone's buttons · participle past pressed someone's buttons · past pressed someone's buttons

  1. alternativeAlternative form of push someone's buttons.

    I press trigga, I don't press people button

    2006, “Cobrastyle”, performed by Robyn
    1 more example

    But I'm pretty persuasive, and I've learned how elected officials think. I know how to press their buttons.

    2020 December 2, Andy Byford talks to Paul Clifton, “I enjoy really big challenges...”, in Rail, page 55
Cite this entry
APA

press someone's buttons. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/press%20someone's%20buttons

MLA

“press someone's buttons.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/press%20someone's%20buttons. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “press someone's buttons,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/press%20someone's%20buttons.

Source: press someone's buttons on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.