buckle

Universal Words verb, noun verb 1 ~ (sth on / up) to fasten sth or be fastened with a buckle: [VN] She buckled her belt. * He buckled on his sword. * [V] These shoes buckle at the side. 2 to become crushed or bent under a weight or force; to crush or bend sth in this way: [V] The steel frames began to buckle under the strain. * (figurative) A weaker man would have buckled under the pressure. * [VN] The crash buckled the front of my car. 3 [V] when your knees or legs buckle or when you buckle at the knees, your knees become weak and you start to fall PHRASALVERBS buckle down (to sth) (informal) to start to do sth seriously: I'd better buckle down to those reports. buckle up (AmE) = belt up at BELTv. noun a piece of metal or plastic used for joining the ends of a belt or for fastening a strap on a bag, shoe, etc.