BUCKLE DOWN Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

buckle (down)

verb

Definition of buckle (down)

as in to apply (oneself)

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for buckle (down)

Verb

Eight of the nine games Kerr pitched in this season for the Braves came in a relief role.

— Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 1 Oct. 2026
But the Marlins will not pressure any of their starting pitchers to pitch in relief between starts; those pitchers would need to want to do it, which was the case this past month.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of pitch in

Verb

But for Spring/Summer 2027, the dust has largely settled, as many from this fresh cohort knuckle down and develop their second or third collections.

— Lucy Maguire, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2026
Teams will use the five-week gap between the races in Japan and Miami to knuckle down at their factories and develop car upgrades that could boost their fortunes upon returning to the track in May.

— Luke Smith, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of knuckle down

Verb

On an archaeological dig in Sulawesi, an island in modern-day Indonesia, Brumm and his colleagues excavated some very old human remains.

— Pien Huang, NPR, 19 Sep. 2026
Know More Republican leaders are preparing for Democratic opponents of the college sports bill to dig in, dragging out the rest of the schedule.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of dig in

Verb

Magadan had a deadly reputation in the Stalin era, as a hub for Gulag mines where political prisoners slaved sometimes to death and produced gold and other minerals in the process.

— Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Po’s journey begins while slaving away at his boring noodle job on the day the Dragon Warrior is to be chosen.

— Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Nov. 2025

Definition of slave

Verb

To heat-style, blow-dry curtain bangs away from the face, sweeping them from side to side with a paddle brush.

— Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 9 June 2026
Brian Cashman gets it all the time, but good, from Yankee fans; for them, banging away at Cashman on social media feels like the real national pastime.

— Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025

Definition of bang away

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.

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“Buckle (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buckle%20%28down%29. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of buckle (down)

verb

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