BUCKLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does buckle mean? 

• BUCKLE (noun)
  The noun BUCKLE has 2 senses:

1. fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong

2. a shape distorted by twisting or folding

  Familiarity information: BUCKLE used as a noun is rare.

• BUCKLE (verb)
  The verb BUCKLE has 3 senses:

1. fasten with a buckle or buckles

2. fold or collapse

3. bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat

  Familiarity information: BUCKLE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BUCKLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("buckle" is a kind of...):

fastener; fastening; fixing; holdfast (restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place)

Meronyms (parts of "buckle"):

prong (a pointed projection)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "buckle"):

belt buckle (the buckle used to fasten a belt)

Derivation:

buckle (fasten with a buckle or buckles)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A shape distorted by twisting or folding

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

buckle; warp

Hypernyms ("buckle" is a kind of...):

distorted shape; distortion (a shape resulting from distortion)

Derivation:

buckle (bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat)

• BUCKLE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they buckle    ... he / she / it buckles   
Past simple: buckled   
Past participle: buckled   
-ing form: buckling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fasten with a buckle or buckles

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

buckle; clasp

Hypernyms (to "buckle" is one way to...):

fasten; fix; secure (cause to be firmly attached)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

unbuckle (undo the buckle of)

Derivation:

buckle (fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fold or collapse

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

buckle; crumple

Context example:

His knees buckled

Hypernyms (to "buckle" is one way to...):

break; cave in; collapse; fall in; founder; give; give way (break down, literally or metaphorically)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

buckle; heave; warp

Context example:

The highway buckled during the heat wave

Hypernyms (to "buckle" is one way to...):

change surface (undergo or cause to undergo a change in the surface)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "buckle"):

lift (rise upward, as from pressure or moisture)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

buckle (a shape distorted by twisting or folding)

 Context examples 

Four—an incense-boat, a ewer of silver, a gold buckle and a cope worked in pearls.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Issue associated with the buckling or crushing of material from external forces.

(Collapse of Medical Device or Device Component, Food and Drug Administration)

They noted that as the cells contracted, the MTs “buckled” under the force in a pattern that coincided with contraction of the sarcomeres.

(Microtubules’ role in heart cell contraction revealed, NIH)

The most likely explanation for Mercury’s great valley is long-wavelength buckling of the planet’s outermost shell in response to global contraction or shrinking.

(‘Great Valley’ Found on Mercury, NASA)

This tirade against destiny went on for an hour or more, and then he buckled to his work, limping and groaning, and in his eyes a great hatred for all created things.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

This finished, they buckled down to "fancy starch."

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

François fastened upon him an arrangement of straps and buckles.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

My heart was down in the soles of my little silver-buckled shoes now that I had the immediate prospect of meeting so great and terrible a person as the Prince of Wales.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

About his waist he wore an old brass-buckled leather belt, which was the one thing solid in his whole accoutrement.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The new discoveries show that the formation 40 to 50 million years ago of the Pacific Ring of Fire, an active seafloor zone along the perimeter of the Pacific Ocean, caused dramatic changes in ocean depth and volcanic activity and buckled the seabed of Zealandia.

(Scientists return from expedition to lost continent of Zealandia, National Science Foundation)