press-buttonn.adj.
/ˈprɛsbʌtn/, U.S. /ˈprɛsˌbətn/ A. n.
1. = push-button n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > control(s) > [noun] > buttons
tit1864
push-button?1874
press-buttonc1876
push1886
pressel1892
press-cock1932
stop button1940
touch key1957
c1876 J. E. Smith Man. Telegr. 133/1 (caption) Press button... Pear shape push button for bell cord.
1889 W. H. Preece & J. Maier Telephone 111 The object of the Button Telephone is to replace the press button of an ordinary electric bell by a telephone-stud.
1929 Times 18 Oct. 16/6 A press button will enable the pedestrian to change the normal green light first to the orange warning, and then to the red stop light.
1977 Gramophone Nov. 959/3 To the right of the main tuning knob..are two press-buttons.
2003 CCTV Today (Nexis) 1 May 27 It certainly keeps in line with the traditional VCR design with very easy press buttons.
2. A fastener for clothing, etc., similar to a press stud.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > fastenings > other fastenings
crotcheta1685
skewer1771
back-string1785
guard-chain1832
patte1835
tie-up1896
press-button1908
press fastener1922
Liverpool pennant1933
Velcro1960
1908 Times 16 Dec. 14/6 (advt.) Gentlemen's Real Gazelle Gloves, Dark Tan or Grey. 1 press button. 3s. per pair.
1917 M. A. Souder Notion Department xv. 122 There are two types of snap fasteners: those built upon the principle of the ball and pocket reinforced with a wire spring, properly designated as snap fastener, and those of a flatter and structurally weaker design of a ball and socket without this wire spring, called press buttons.
1988 Hindu 25 Feb. 13/9 The trade marks..stand duly registered..in respect of elastic and non-elastic tapes.., lace, embroidery, ribands, braid, press buttons, hooks and eyes.
2000 Guardian 26 Aug. (Saturday section) 1/1 Chamois-palmed string-backed cycling gloves with big white press buttons at the back of the wrist.
B. adj.
1. That can be fastened using a press-button; (also) of or relating to a press-button.
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1896 Fitchburg (Mass.) Daily Sentinel 1 Oct. 4/5 (advt.) 2 Press Button Mocha Gloves for street wear and driving.
1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 404/1 Pocket for powder, lined white silk, with puff, and press button fastening.
1933 Archit. Rev. 74 30/1 (caption) The upholstery is easily removable on the motor car press-button principle.
1944 Times 22 May 2/6 (advt.) Trim, tailored flapjacks, with mirrored lid and gauze sifter... Square shape in crushed morocco, with press-button fastening.
2.
a. Operated by pressing a button. Cf. push-button adj. 1a.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > control(s) > [adjective] > types of button
push-button1880
press-button1901
1901 Atlanta (Georgia) Constit. 15 Dec. 35/1 (advt.) For sale—Press button pocket knives, all styles and sizes.
1909 Times 1 Dec. 17 Most hospitals possess at least four lifts... The press-button type is employed, with the usual safety devices.
1965 Wireless World July 34/1 (advt.) Press-button operation.
1993 Guardian 24 July (Weekend Suppl.) 43/2 On a recent motoring holiday to France we took many precautionary specialist supplies... Checklist: 30 raisin mini-packs, bumper family crisp assortment,..press-button drink-dispensing flash.
b. Characterized by the use of press-buttons; technological; impersonal. Cf. push-button adj. 1b, 1c.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [adjective] > rendered mechanical
mechanized1740
push-button1946
press-button1948
cybernated1962
1948 Times 5 Mar. 2/4 Press-button warfare as a major factor in war was not yet a practical reality.
1958 Listener 12 June 990/3 A press-button world.
1965 M. McIntyre Place of Quiet Waters i. 5 All this high-powered, press-button living is wrong.
1971 Daily Tel. 30 Jan. 3/4 It was joked about as obsolete and useless in the age of press-button warfare.
1992 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 24 Aug. 9 Such is the press-button society in which we live, with hole-in-the-wall banking, mail order pressures and a pile of forms that follow us from birth to death.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.c1876