buckle
Americannoun
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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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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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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
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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
- 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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Beijing recognises strength and could calculate that she has more staying power than anticipated and had not buckled under pressure, and therefore will have to somehow deal with her," Heng told AFP.
From Barron's
She placed 40th, 11th and fifth in World Cup races, before the knee buckled in her next race, causing her to skid off course.
“He said yes, so it was like, ‘Let’s buckle up and go on this weird journey together.’”
From Los Angeles Times
Yet if the first month of 2026 can be any guide to the rest of the year, investors might want to buckle up.
From MarketWatch
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
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.
