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RELATED WORDS

address, bend, give, throw, turn

Nearby words

  1. buckishly,
  2. buckjump,
  3. buckjumper,
  4. buckjumping,
  5. buckland,
  6. buckle down,
  7. buckle under,
  8. buckle up,
  9. buckled,
  10. buckler

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
Related formsbuck·le·less, adjectivere·buck·le, verb, re·buck·led, re·buck·ling.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for buckle down (1 of 2)

buckle down

verb

(intr, adverb) informal to apply oneself with determinationto buckle down to a job

British Dictionary definitions for buckle down (2 of 2)

buckle

/ (ˈbʌkəl) /

noun

a clasp for fastening together two loose ends, esp of a belt or strap, usually consisting of a frame with an attached movable prong
an ornamental representation of a buckle, as on a shoe
a kink, bulge, or other distortiona 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

Word Origin for buckle

C14: from Old French bocle, from Latin buccula a little cheek, hence, cheek strap of a helmet, from bucca cheek
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with buckle down

buckle down

Set to work, apply oneself with determination, as in All right, we'll buckle down now and study for exams. Originating about 1700 as buckle to, the expression gained currency with the football song “Buckle-Down, Winsocki” (from the Broadway musical comedy Best Foot Forward, 1941). [Mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.