buckle

[ buhk-uhl ]
See synonyms for: bucklebuckledbuckling on Thesaurus.com

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.

  1. an ornament of metal, beads, etc., of similar appearance.

  2. a bend, bulge, or kink, as in a board or saw blade.

verb (used with object),buck·led, buck·ling.
  1. to fasten with a buckle or buckles: Buckle your seat belt.

  2. to shrivel, by applying heat or pressure; bend; curl.

  1. to prepare (oneself) for action; apply (oneself) vigorously to something.

  2. to bend, warp, or cause to give way suddenly, as with heat or pressure.

verb (used without object),buck·led, buck·ling.
  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.

  1. to bend, warp, bulge, or collapse: The bridge buckled in the storm.

  2. 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 Phrases
  1. 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.

  2. buckle up, to fasten one's belt, seat belt, or buckles: She won't start the car until we've all buckled up.

Origin of buckle

1
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

Other words for buckle

Other words from buckle

  • buck·le·less, adjective
  • re·buck·le, verb, re·buck·led, re·buck·ling.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use buckle in a sentence

  • Your mall Santa may have a specialized degree under his straining, big-buckled belt.

  • He buckled dizzily with weakness and nausea, but then an invisible force jolted him upright and motionless.

    Restricted Tool | Malcolm B. Morehart
  • Save for a mouthful of bread while he buckled on his armor, he had tasted none that direful day.

    God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
  • When we were buckled into a spiral of seats threading the cylinder, Cragley pulled the release lever.

    Spacewrecked on Venus | Neil R. Jones
  • Rick helped the governor in, buckled his safety belt, then ran around and got into the pilot's seat.

    The Flaming Mountain | Harold Leland Goodwin
  • It was a leathern girdle, which had evidently been worn buckled upon the waist of the man when alive.

    Toilers of the Sea | Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for buckle

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

  1. 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

Origin of buckle

1
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