buckle
Americannoun
-
buckles
plural
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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.
-
any similar contrivance used for such purposes.
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an ornament of metal, beads, etc., of similar appearance.
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a bend, bulge, or kink, as in a board or saw blade.
verb (used with object)
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buckles,
present (3rd person singular)
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buckled,
past participle, past
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buckling
present participle
-
to fasten with a buckle or buckles.
Buckle your seat belt.
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to shrivel, by applying heat or pressure; bend; curl.
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to prepare (oneself ) for action; apply (oneself ) vigorously to something.
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to bend, warp, or cause to give way suddenly, as with heat or pressure.
verb (used without object)
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buckles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
buckled,
past participle, past
-
buckling
present participle
-
to close or fasten with a buckle.
Grandmother always wore shoes that buckled.
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to prepare oneself or apply oneself.
The student buckled to the lesson.
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to bend, warp, bulge, or collapse.
The bridge buckled in the storm.
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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
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buckle up to fasten one's belt, seat belt, or buckles.
She won't start the car until we've all buckled up.
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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.
noun
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a clasp for fastening together two loose ends, esp of a belt or strap, usually consisting of a frame with an attached movable prong
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an ornamental representation of a buckle, as on a shoe
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a kink, bulge, or other distortion
a buckle in a railway track
verb
-
to fasten or be fastened with a buckle
-
to bend or cause to bend out of shape, esp as a result of pressure or heat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bucklesimple
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bucklessimple
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have buckledperfect
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has buckledperfect
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am bucklingprogressive
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are bucklingprogressive
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is bucklingprogressive
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have been bucklingperfect progressive
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has been bucklingperfect progressive
Past
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buckledsimple
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had buckledperfect
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was bucklingprogressive
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were bucklingprogressive
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had been bucklingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
A buckle is a clasp or fastener, such as the one on the end of a belt. In the old days, not only belts but also shoes had buckles. When you fasten your belt buckle, you can say you buckle it — you also buckle your seat belt and buckle a kid's bike helmet under his chin. When the ground buckles during an earthquake, it folds or bends out of shape, and when your knees buckle, you could fall. You might also buckle under pressure or stress. The Latin root word is buccula, "cheek strap of a helmet."
Vocabulary lists containing buckle
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 6
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 6
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"We didn't abandon seatbelts because people didn't want to buckle up, and we will not flinch at holding tech companies to account when our littlest citizens are at stake."
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Previously, a customer buying a belt buckle was nudged toward a matching belt or hat, items that closely related to the original purchase, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Higher insurance costs could cause some homeowners to buckle under the financial pressure, Cotality said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Concrete slabs between the homes had started to crack or buckle, with some of the fissures running all the way up to or under the homes’ walls, the news outlet reported.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
He takes the hat from the side table and plays with the buckle on the back.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
"So they detach the slow-growing gut, which is now tethering the lengthening body. The body buckles and twists into coiling," Miyashita explains.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
“We need more cowboy hats and belt buckles in Washington,” he wrote in a campaign post on July 15.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Just every department: boots, hats, belt, buckles, T-shirts, Western shirts,” store co-owner Julie Newport told The Times of Haaland’s purchases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
As the state-backed property giant buckles under the weight of its debt, the government has so far refrained from stepping in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
Feathers walks to a seat on the left side, plops down, and buckles herself in.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
During the subprime-mortgage crisis, some ARM borrowers buckled under balloon payments when the initial fixed term of the loan expired.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
Beattie buckled but didn’t break — at least not then.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
They are often "outdated, too narrow, overgrown with vegetation and buckled by tree roots", complained Lisa Feitsch of the cycling association ADFC.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Richard Wilcock, Rail Magazine industry editor, said it was hard to know the cause without speculating, but photographs appeared to show "clearly a buckled track".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
However, the instant I buckled up I promised myself I’d surrender the body when we got to the international bridge—no matter what.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
The leak wasn’t visible to the eye: They realized there was a problem when the floors started buckling.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
"Right now 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
National Rail explained that heat can cause a number of issues including overhead lines expanding and rails buckling.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
They show riders from children to young people on a night out stepping into Waymos and buckling up, along with shots of Waymos swerving to avoid accidents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
When he had finished, drawing up his pants and buckling his belt, Bernabe knelt on the floor near the spider, watching it work.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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