panic

To overreact to a negative situation with an inordinate amount of fear, alarm, or confusion. If you're going to be a successful boss, you can't press the panic button every time your company has a minor setback. New parents tend to press the panic button over every little sniffle their first baby gets.

Fig. to panic suddenly. She hit the panic button and just went to pieces. Don't press the panic button. Relax and keep your eyes open.

to lose control in a frightening or shocking situation. Try not to panic at what you see. It will be a shock. Don't panic at the price of food. It will be worse next week.

to make someone lose control by doing something. She panicked Denise by describing the event too vividly. She panicked her horse by jerking the reins too tightly.

to react to a situation with fear and confusion Our coach isn't about to push the panic button just because we've lost two games in a row.

to do something quickly without thinking about it in order to deal with a difficult or worrying situation (often negative) We may have lost the last three games but we're not pushing the panic button yet.

a time when you feel extremely anxious and you must act quickly because something needs to be done urgently No matter how organized you think you are, one hour before the show starts it's panic stations.

Also, press the panic button. Overreact to a situation, as in Don't worry; Jane is always pushing the panic button, but I'm sure the baby's fine. This term originated during World War II, when certain bombers had a bell-warning system so that the crew could bail out if the plane was severely hit. Occasionally a pilot would push the button in error, when there was only minor damage, causing the crew to bail out unnecessarily. By 1950 the expression had been transferred to other kinds of overreaction.