Buckle Meaning

/ˈbʌkəl/
C1

Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounA metal clasp with a hinged tongue or a spike through which a belt or strap is passed and penetrated by the tongue or spike, in order to fasten the ends of the belt together or to secure the strap to something else.

nounA metal clasp with a hinged tongue or a spike through which a belt or strap is passed and penetrated by the tongue or spike, in order to fasten the ends of the belt together or to secure the strap to something else., Some other form of clasp used to fasten two things together.

I've really got to buckle down and study for our final exams.
On base and off, buckle your seat-belts.
Buckle up, sit down, shut up and hold on.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the crash, the mechanic found the metal safety belt's ____ had snapped, causing the strap to flap loose.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He fastened the silver ____ on his leather belt before leaving today.

The noun is derived from Middle English bokel (“spiked metal ring for fastening; ornamental clasp; boss of a shield; a shield, buckler; (figurative) means of defence”) [and other forms], from Old French boucle, bocle (“spiked metal ring for fastening; boss of a shield; a shield”) [and other forms], from Latin buccula (“cheek strap of a helmet; boss of a shield”) (from bucca (“soft part of the cheek”)). Noun etymology 1, noun sense 2 (“great conflict or struggle”) is probably derived from verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.2.1 (“to apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work”). The verb is derived from Middle English bokelen, bukelen (“to fasten (something) with a buckle or clasp; to fasten, make fast; to wrap; to arch the body”) [and other forms], from bokel (noun) (see above) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). In verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.2.1, the sense “to apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work” was derived from the now obsolete sense “to equip (oneself) for a battle, etc.”, and originally alluded to armour being buckled on to the body.

"Svveet Hellen I muſt vvoe you, / To helpe vn-arme our Hector: his ſtubborne bucles / VVith this your vvhite enchaunting fingers touch; / Shall more obey then to the edge of ſteele, / Or force of Greekiſh ſinevves: […]" — c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], signature F, verso:
"Tongue of my shoe-buckle broke. […] Bought a new head to my cane, and a tongue to my buckle. Drank a glass of purl to recover appetite." — 1712 March 14 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “MONDAY, March 4, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 317; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume IV, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, pages 86–87:
"My uncle furthermore remarked that it wore high heeled shoes, after an ancient fashion, with paste or diamond buckles, that sparkled as though they were alive." — 1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Adventure of My Uncle”, in Tales of a Traveller, part 1 (Strange Stories. […]), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC, page 31:
"He must be forging the buckle-screw, sir, now. […] Carpenter, when he's through with that buckle, tell him to forge a pair of steel shoulder-blades; there's a pedlar aboard with a crushing pack." — 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Ahab and the Carpenter”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, pages 522–523:
"Iuſt. [i.e., the Lord Chief Justice, William Gascoigne] VVel, the truth is ſir Iohn, you liue in great infamy. / Falſt[aff]. He that buckles himſelfe in my belt cannot liue in leſſe." — c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], signature B3, recto:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
After the crash, the mechanic found the metal safety belt's ____ had snapped, causing the strap to flap loose.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He fastened the silver ____ on his leather belt before leaving today.

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