buckle

American  

[buhk-uhl] / ˈbʌk əl /

noun

1. a clasp consisting of a rectangular or curved rim with one or more movable tongues, fixed to one end of a belt or strap, used for fastening to the other end of the same strap or to another strap.

2. any similar contrivance used for such purposes.

3. an ornament of metal, beads, etc., of similar appearance.

4. a bend, bulge, or kink, as in a board or saw blade.

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verb (used with object)

buckled, buckling

1. to fasten with a buckle or buckles.

   Buckle your seat belt.

2. to shrivel, by applying heat or pressure; bend; curl.

3. to prepare (oneself ) for action; apply (oneself ) vigorously to something.

4. to bend, warp, or cause to give way suddenly, as with heat or pressure.

   Synonyms:

   collapse , crumple , twist , bulge , sag

verb (used without object)

buckled, buckling

1. to close or fasten with a buckle.

   Grandmother always wore shoes that buckled.

2. to prepare oneself or apply oneself.

   The student buckled to the lesson.

3. to bend, warp, bulge, or collapse.

   The bridge buckled in the storm.

4. to yield, surrender, or give way to another (often followed byunder ).

   She refused to take the medicine, but buckled under when the doctor told her to.

verb phrase

1. buckle up  to fasten one's belt, seat belt, or buckles.

   She won't start the car until we've all buckled up.

2. buckle down  to set to work with vigor; concentrate on one's work.

   He was by nature a daydreamer and found it hard to buckle down.

buckle British  

/ ˈbʌkəl /

noun

1. a clasp for fastening together two loose ends, esp of a belt or strap, usually consisting of a frame with an attached movable prong

2. an ornamental representation of a buckle, as on a shoe

3. a kink, bulge, or other distortion

   a buckle in a railway track

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verb

1. to fasten or be fastened with a buckle

2. to bend or cause to bend out of shape, esp as a result of pressure or heat

Other Word Forms

• buckleless adjective
• rebuckle verb

Etymology

Origin of buckle

1300–50; Middle English bocle < Anglo-French bo ( u ) cle, bucle < Latin buc ( c ) ula cheekpiece (of a helmet), strip of wood, etc., resembling a cheekpiece, equivalent to bucc ( a ) cheek + -ula -ule

Example Sentences

There was also a pronounced buckle of Merino's ankle, which is something a VAR is looking for to indicate excessive force, and his boot was shifted back on the turf.

From BBC

Chinese food-delivery giant Meituan swung into the red for the first time in nearly three years, buckling under the costs of a brutal price war.

From The Wall Street Journal

The consultant says he predicts 2026 will be the year of AI dominated content on social media, adding: "If you thought that AI animal content was quirky, I think buckle up".

From BBC

Treasurys sparked alarm that the bond market might finally be buckling under the pressure of outsize U.S. borrowing.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Your buckles should face not left, not right, but straight ahead.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bend
• cave in
• crumple
• fold
• twist