buckle

[ buhk-uhl ]
See synonyms for buckle 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 by under): 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.

Words Nearby buckle

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

How to use buckle in a sentence

  • He is having a grand time at Crompton, and I'm going to help him a while, and then buckle down to hard work in the office.

    The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes
  • She wore a neat tailor-made dress of brown cloth, and a small black velvet hat with a big gold buckle.

    The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le Queux
  • From the lowest buckle he went on to the top one, where Cash's khaki trousers were tucked inside with a deep fold on top.

    Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
  • buckle, on the other hand, questions hereditary transmission of mental qualities altogether.

  • But Hobart did not buckle the strap about his arm once more, neither did he pay any attention to Lablet.

    Star Born | Andre Norton

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