---
name: Menu button
slug: menu-button
category: component
status: published
created: 2026-08-21T00:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-08-21T00:00:00.000Z
definition: A button whose only job is to open a menu, marked with aria-haspopup
  and usually drawn with a downward chevron.
aliases:
  - name: dropdown trigger
  - name: menu trigger
    source: radix
  - name: disclosure button
tags:
  - menus
relations:
  contrastWith:
    - select
    - split-button
    - has-popup
    - action-list
    - overflow-menu
    - dropdown
  variantOf: []
  partOf: []
  seeAlso:
    - kebab-menu
implementations:
  - system: aria-apg
    name: Menu Button
    url: https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/menu-button/
sources:
  - title: "ARIA Authoring Practices Guide: Menu Button pattern"
    url: https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/menu-button/
demo: inline
exhibit: false
useWhen: the button opens a list of commands, nothing more
---

A menu button does one thing: it opens a menu. It runs no action of its own, which
is why pressing it can never be a mistake, and why the word for it names the
relationship rather than the shape. The menu it opens holds commands, so the button
usually reads as a category for them ("Actions", "Add", "Share").

Two marks make it recognisable. The chevron pointing down is the visual promise
that something will appear below, and `aria-haspopup="menu"` with `aria-expanded`
is the same promise made to assistive technology. Neither is decoration: a button
that opens a menu without saying so leaves a screen reader user pressing a control
that seems to do nothing, and a plain button with a chevron on it sets an
expectation the control has to keep.

The neighbours are easy to mix up. A [select](/select) also opens a list, but that
list holds values and the control keeps the one you pick; a menu button's list
holds verbs and the button reads the same afterwards. A
[kebab menu](/kebab-menu) is a menu button whose label is an icon, used when the
row cannot spare the width for a word. A split button attaches a default action to
the same control, so its main half does something before any menu appears. And
"dropdown" covers all of these loosely enough that it is worth avoiding when the
distinction matters.

The keyboard contract is the part most often left out. Enter or Space opens the
menu and moves focus to its first item, Down Arrow does the same, Escape closes it
and returns focus to the button, and the menu itself takes over arrow-key movement
between its items rather than leaving them in the page's tab order.