MEANING
1. To bend, collapse, or yield under pressure.
2. To fasten something using a clasp with a movable pin or catch.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- knees buckle
- buckle under pressure
On the page
His knees began to buckle halfway up the stairs.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- buckle
- Past tense
- buckled
- Past participle
- buckled
- Present participle
- buckling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- buckle
- Present continuous
- am/is/are buckling
- Present perfect
- have/has buckled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been buckling
- Past
- buckled
- Past continuous
- was/were buckling
- Past perfect
- had buckled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been buckling
- Future
- will buckle
- Future continuous
- will be buckling
- Future perfect
- will have buckled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been buckling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: buckle; buckles; buckled; buckled; buckling Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: buckles.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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