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

If she can find a path to collective resilience in these dark times, I’d better suit up and buckle down.

From Los Angeles Times

She glances at her watch, which is buckled too tightly around her soft wrist.

From Literature

In Texas and the mid-Atlantic, several power plants have gone offline because of the cold, but it hasn’t yet caused the grid to buckle.

From Barron's

In Texas and the mid-Atlantic, several power plants have gone offline because of the cold, but it hasn’t yet caused the grid to buckle.

From Barron's

Part of me worries it’s going to buckle underneath her—not because of her, but because one of the chair legs looks like it could use a good tightening.

From Literature

Related Words

• bend
• cave in
• crumple
• fold
• twist