unbuckle

verb

un·​buck·​le ˌən-ˈbə-kəl How to pronounce unbuckle (audio)
unbuckled; unbuckling

transitive verb

: to loose the buckle of : unfasten

intransitive verb

1
: to loosen buckles
2
: relax

Examples of unbuckle in a Sentence

She unbuckled her seat belt.
Recent Examples on the Web San Diego State built a defensive pedigree for so long — popping pads and unbuckling chin straps so often — that the NCAA statistics seem to be misprints. Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2023 Seide opens the driver side door, as well, and appears to begin unbuckling Cobb’s seat belt with both hands. Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2023 To this point, Bailey also says with having to unbuckle toddlers from their car seats in the case of an emergency, this scenario seems even more unsafe, in her view. Melissa Willets, Parents, 7 July 2023 Upon spotting a person inside, Taylor uses a baton to break the driver side window while shouting warnings to the driver, telling them to unbuckle their seatbelt and get out of the car. Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 6 July 2023 The man unbuckled his reefer and dropped it to the floor. Lisa Wells, Harper’s Magazine , 15 Mar. 2023 Every half hour, Gramlich—who’d helped test Lucy back at Lockheed—would unbuckle herself from the seat to record temperature and humidity data, keeping track of the environment inside the shipping container, to see what the spacecraft was exposed to. Sarah Scoles, Wired, 17 Aug. 2021 But when the lifts stop spinning and après-ski begins, Vail really comes to life—travelers pull off their helmets, unbuckle their ski boots and begin to recount the day’s chilly, high-elevation adventures. Sarah Kuta, Robb Report, 5 Dec. 2022 According to court documents, Paniagua inappropriately touched the younger sister under the guise of helping her buckle and unbuckle her seat belt. Dallas News, 25 Aug. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unbuckle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of unbuckle was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near unbuckle

Cite this Entry

“Unbuckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unbuckle. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

unbuckle

verb
un·​buck·​le ˌən-ˈbək-əl How to pronounce unbuckle (audio)
: to unfasten the buckle of (as a belt)

More from Merriam-Webster on unbuckle

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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