Used to describe an ongoing action or state that is currently taking place in the immediate present.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A few takeaways: Companies are buckling up for a higher-yield environment; spreads—the amount a company pays above a benchmark Treasury—may widen; and those issuing debt may do so with shorter, cheaper, maturities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 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
With natural disasters now affecting more people across the United States, insurance markets in many states are buckling under the weight of payouts to those hit by wildfires and hurricanes.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2024
Benchmark two- and 10-year Treasury yields are the highest since 2006-07, 10-year real yields have broken above 2%, and asset markets around the world are buckling under the higher-for-longer U.S. rate outlook.
From Reuters ● Sep. 24, 2023
Better clear the wreck and get the mizzen topsail and the fore and main sail in, sir, and reef the fore and main topsails; the spars are buckling fearfully.
From For Love of Country A Story of Land and Sea in the Days of the Revolution by Cyrus Townsend Brady
