# Label buttons with verbs, not “OK”

UI Tip #005 · Forms & components · 2026-10-12 · https://ui.praveenjuge.com/5/button-labels

> A button should say what happens when you press it: Save draft, Delete 3 files, Send invite. Then nobody has to reread the dialog to find the safe one.

*Figure: A confirm dialog whose buttons change from OK and Cancel to Delete 3 files and Keep files.*

## Why it matters

“OK” and “Cancel” answer a question people have to go back and reread. In a dialog that asks “Delete these files?”, OK is the delete and Cancel is the keep, and getting it backwards loses work. A label that says what the button does answers the question by itself, and people can act without reading the dialog twice.

## How to do it

- Use a verb, and an object when it helps: *Save draft*, *Delete 3 files*, *Send invite*, *Publish*.
- Reuse the verb from the title. If the dialog says “Discard changes?”, the button says *Discard*, not *Yes*.
- Name the safe choice too, when “Cancel” would be unclear: *Keep files*, *Keep editing*.
- For a destructive action, don't rely on red alone ([tip #009](https://ui.praveenjuge.com/9/dont-rely-on-color)); the verb carries the warning.
- Keep labels short. If a button needs a sentence, the dialog's text should do the explaining.

## When it bends

An alert that only informs, with a single button and no choice to make, can say *OK* or *Got it*. And *Cancel* is fine for backing out, as long as the other button names its action.

## Sources

- [OK-Cancel or Cancel-OK?, Nielsen Norman Group](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ok-cancel-or-cancel-ok/)
- [Alerts, Apple Human Interface Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/alerts)

---

From [UI Tips by Praveen Juge](https://ui.praveenjuge.com). Free to share, with a link back to https://ui.praveenjuge.com/5/button-labels.