buckle 1 of 2

verb

Definition of bucklenext
1
as in to collapse
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure the flimsy bridge buckled under the weight of the caravan of trucks

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to devote
to occupy (oneself) diligently or with close attention buckled himself down and finished the assignment in record time

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

buckle

2 of 2

noun

as in loop

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of buckle
Verb
As the front end accelerates, the downstream workflows responsible for adapting and validating that content are buckling under the pressure. — Benjamin Faes, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026 After nearly two terrifying minutes, the jerking stopped, but the first floor of his building had buckled. — Tibisay Zea, Christian Science Monitor, 27 July 2026
Noun
Reigns took a page out of Rollins’ playbook, hitting him with a buckle bomb and a stomp. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026 Plus, the buckle adds a touch of sleekness that will look dressy paired with trousers or casual with jeans. — Rylee Johnston, PEOPLE, 30 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for buckle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buckle
  1. collapse
  2. devote
  3. loop
  4. go
  5. apply
  6. fold
  7. give
  8. spiral
Verb
  • Thousands of people on Flores camped outside collapsed homes under tarpaulin tents overnight into Monday, sleeping outside because of the danger of more aftershocks.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Parked cars were crushed when buildings collapsed during the quake.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of collapse
Verb
  • Most parenting plans address physical custody and time-sharing, but many devote little attention to the challenges of managing a child’s education and extracurricular activities.
    — Rebecca L. Palmer, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2026
  • As a result, many web hosting services offer the platform, with WP Engine devoting all its resources to it.
    — Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of devote
Noun
  • The resulting feedback loop could bring computational materials research closer to physical experimentation.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Reading easily leads to reading more, which builds the vocabulary that makes the next book easier — and that loop is what actually predicts the outcome.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of loop
Verb
  • But Vicki immediately goes past Meredith Marks (disengaging) to Amanda Frances (opening her laptop and working), even as the others try to earn their paychecks by poking at her.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The search is underway for a person who went missing while jet skiing off the Long Beach coast on Sunday night.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of go
Verb
  • The marks apply across all Claude surfaces people use — the API, Claude Code, Claude Cowork and deployments through AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Foundry.
    — Anisha Sircar, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • But no matter the amount returned, states have held that their specific rules apply to banks lending within their borders.
    — P.R. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of apply
Noun
  • Instead, pack blazers, dress shirts, and anything with structure in a garment bag, which requires fewer folds and lays flat.
    — Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Fifty folds makes the paper about 113 million km thick, so one more gets you past the sun—51 folds is about 225 million km.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of fold
Verb
  • The Arts District is a short rideshare away and gives you all the indie bars and restaurants and vintage shopping.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Karlie Lema’s pressure gave Bay FC (5-10-4) a lead in the sixth minute, but Moriya responded a minute later to tie it and Utah (11-6-3) took the lead in the 22nd minute on Narumi’s shot from outside the box.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of give
Noun
  • This chronic consumerism has been linked to a spiral which can lead to a disconnect between spiritual and material success.
    — Mimosa Jones Tunney, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Grand plans to return to the Premier League under Chansiri around a decade ago had come to nothing, and financial mismanagement soon began a spiral that threatened the club’s existence.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of spiral

Browse Nearby Words

bucking up
buckle
buckled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Buckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buckle. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on buckle

Nglish: Translation of buckle for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about buckle

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of oxymoron

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All