buckle

[buhk-uhl]

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.

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

/ 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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of buckle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of buckle¹

C14: from Old French bocle , from Latin buccula a little cheek, hence, cheek strap of a helmet, from bucca cheek

Example Sentences

It’s wearing a tiny pirate’s hat on the top of its head, decorated with a golden buckle.

Read more on Literature

Now she tried to stand up, but her legs buckled beneath her, and she nearly fell into the samovar.

Read more on Literature

The housekeeper had changed out of her usual buckled shoes and voluminous floral-print dress, and into a pair of sturdy boots and a borrowed shirt and trousers from one of the farmhands.

Read more on Literature

Michael slid into the back seat and buckled up without a word.

Read more on Literature

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

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bend 
• cave in 
• crumple 
• fold 
• twist