1
as in collapsing
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devoting
to occupy (oneself) diligently or with close attention
buckled himself down and finished the assignment in record time
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of buckling
But property owners buckling under financial pressure isn’t necessarily justice.
—
Jeremy Talcott, Oc Register, 27 May 2026
Getty Images At a time when Hollywood is buckling under the weight of one remake after another, a new film has taken the industry by storm.
—Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
Debris pummels Rodney Stover’s back, buckling him to his knees.
—Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
Critical infrastructure, including hospitals, is also buckling, and doctors are struggling to provide even basic medical care.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 14 May 2026
Transmission and cost crunch The physical grid is buckling under the same pressure.
—Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026
Retí’s is the standout performance, cogently mapping a mother’s tenacity buckling under a mounting feeling of helplessness at watching her child disappear into a mystery.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
Outcry over the funding cuts prompted Republican lawmakers to create $50 billion in new rural health grants, but critics say that funding is intended for innovative health care delivery solutions — not propping up hospitals buckling under current pressures.
—ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
Its walls of red brick had grown thicker after years of gunked ink, the slats of its wooden floors were wildly uneven beneath the buckling weight of antiquated iron machines.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
Jeremy Talcott, Oc Register, 27 May 2026
Getty Images At a time when Hollywood is buckling under the weight of one remake after another, a new film has taken the industry by storm.
—Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
Debris pummels Rodney Stover’s back, buckling him to his knees.
—Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
Critical infrastructure, including hospitals, is also buckling, and doctors are struggling to provide even basic medical care.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 14 May 2026
Transmission and cost crunch The physical grid is buckling under the same pressure.
—Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026
Retí’s is the standout performance, cogently mapping a mother’s tenacity buckling under a mounting feeling of helplessness at watching her child disappear into a mystery.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
Outcry over the funding cuts prompted Republican lawmakers to create $50 billion in new rural health grants, but critics say that funding is intended for innovative health care delivery solutions — not propping up hospitals buckling under current pressures.
—ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
Its walls of red brick had grown thicker after years of gunked ink, the slats of its wooden floors were wildly uneven beneath the buckling weight of antiquated iron machines.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buckling
Verb
-
The dread moving through professional offices right now is the sound of that assumption collapsing.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
-
Badham had barely escaped another collapsing production, an early version of The Wiz starring Diana Ross, when producer Robert Stigwood suddenly called him in to take over what was then still called Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night, based on Nik Cohn’s famous New York magazine article.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2026
Verb
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After devoting the offseason and spring training to improving his mechanics and approach, Rincon has looked like a different player.—
Charlotte Varnes,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
This has Americans devoting a greater share of their paycheck to gas.—
Alina Selyukh,
NPR,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Moses Moody scored 23 points before crumpling to the floor with an apparently serious left knee injury late in overtime as the Golden State Warriors beat Dallas 137-131 on Monday night, extending the Mavericks' home losing streak to 12 games, their longest in 32 years.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
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Late on, with the game already won, James Garner and substitute Merlin Rohl chased Enzo Fernandez, sending him crumpling to the turf.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Ohio’s exemption is fairly broad, applying not only to construction materials, but to the expensive equipment — such as server racks and cooling systems — used in data centers.—
Marc Levy,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
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Travelers who have spent the past several years scrutinizing where their food, clothing and home goods come from are now applying the same questions to their vacation memorabilia.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
The genre-bending movie stars Jessica Rothe as a mother desperate to get her baby boy back after he is taken.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
-
The political horseshoe is bending around businesses benefitting from the AI boom.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Special commando units were also deployed to the location and carried out intelligence-gathering missions and drone operations, the other two sources said, giving Israel a valuable perch from which to see into northern Iran during the war.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
5 June 2026
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The show is still using some of those songs, giving the score’s relationship to the script a half-in, half-out near-jukebox feeling.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Buckling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buckling. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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