buckle
Americannoun
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 6
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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:
"We didn't abandon seatbelts because people didn't want to buckle up, and we will not flinch at holding tech companies to account when our littlest citizens are at stake."
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Every investor knows the drill: When markets buckle, buy gold.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Previously, a customer buying a belt buckle was nudged toward a matching belt or hat, items that closely related to the original purchase, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Concrete slabs between the homes had started to crack or buckle, with some of the fissures running all the way up to or under the homes’ walls, the news outlet reported.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Her heels hung off the back of her mother’s shoes; she could not even buckle the straps.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
"So they detach the slow-growing gut, which is now tethering the lengthening body. The body buckles and twists into coiling," Miyashita explains.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
“We need more cowboy hats and belt buckles in Washington,” he wrote in a campaign post on July 15.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
Neatly labeled drawers hold hand fans, plastic snakes, buttons, buckles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
As the state-backed property giant buckles under the weight of its debt, the government has so far refrained from stepping in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
Silas closed the lid of the brown leather trunk, and began to do up the straps and the buckles.
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
“Angelenos see the results in crumbling streets, buckled sidewalks and streetlights that stay dark,” proponents said in their ballot argument.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Oil output buckled under the weight of the sanctions.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The last remaining big Wall Street holdouts have buckled under.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
A year later, Bosnian President Biljana Plavsic buckled to international pressure and dismissed him.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
He took a deep breath and buckled his sword belt more tightly.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
Christine Ji and Hannah Pedone looked into the reasons for the buckling AI trade, with more than two-thirds of stocks in the S&P 500 information technology sector down at least 20% from their recent highs.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
A high-rise building in New York City under construction is structurally unstable after two of its support columns started buckling on Tuesday morning.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
The war has taken a significant toll on an economy already buckling under runaway inflation—which hit 88.6% year-on-year in June—a weakened currency and years of compounding international isolation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
With Cuba's economy buckling five months into a US-imposed fuel blockade, and the national housing deficit running to over 900,000 units, authorities say a quick fix is unlikely.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
The horses’ blinders hung on a wooden wall that was turning black and buckling from the fire.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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