British EnglishBrE to do something quickly without thinking enough about it, because something unexpected or dangerous has suddenly happened 惊慌失措,在紧急情况下慌乱行事
Examples from the Corpus
press/push the panic button• And why have governments in the region not pressed the panic button?• Derby County chairman Brian Fearn has refused to push the panic button after Tranmere's 2-1 win.