buckle
Americannoun
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 6
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
While some enjoyed the sunshine, the heat caused trains, schools and emergency services to buckle.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Roads will continue to buckle and flights will continue to be delayed from extreme heat, Marlon warns.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Everything from seat-belt buckle mechanisms to door latches could change how passengers might evacuate in an emergency, or how they are protected in a crash, Federal Aviation Administration chief Bryan Bedford told reporters last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Depending on the situation, the material can bend, buckle, or stiffen in different ways, all without electronics, sensors, or active control systems.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026
The belt was fastened in front with an enormous silver buckle.
From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
“We need more cowboy hats and belt buckles in Washington,” he wrote in a campaign post on July 15.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
Prime Minister Mark Carney has unveiled a plan to bolster Canada's car industry and support its electric vehicle transition, as the sector buckles under the weight of US tariffs.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
As much of Europe buckles under the weight of mass tourism, Georgia is only now getting in on the action in earnest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
Applicants wore suits, dresses, jeans, cowboy hats and boots, longhorn belt buckles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
Quietly she put down her cooking pot and crept to the top of a dome-shaped frost heave, one of the many earth buckles that rise and fall in the crackling cold of the Arctic winter.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
I had only ever seen him on Zoom, and although he was tall, which was nice, I tried not to judge his brown cracked-leather buckled pilgrim shoes paired with high-waist Wrangler jeans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Elsewhere, vehicles on a two-lane road were seen carefully navigating sections of buckled pavement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The sky was the limit for turning offices into apartments – until some columns buckled.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
The game's immense popularity sometimes also meant "servers buckled under the strain", said Reynolds, meaning connectivity problems were "rife for some time".
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Once everyone is in the car, and Mom has verified that we’ve all buckled our seat belts, we pull away from the curb.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
Millions of people across the continent are currently "living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling", he added.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 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
Forcing it to blink is not a costless enterprise, but buckling is not costless either.
From Slate ● May 18, 2026
If you’re thinking about buckling up for safety, now would be a good time to jump into I bonds, especially if you were late to buy them before and missed the big upswing.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
The fire popped and hissed, buckling under a steady stream of water from a nearby hose.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
