on the button
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Exactly right or punctual.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
ISLAND IN THE SUN: Beautiful Beauport on Jersey
And of course Lucille was right on the button.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “on the button” mean?
Exactly right or punctual.
Is “on the button” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.