1
as in collapsed
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 devoted
to occupy (oneself) diligently or with close attention
buckled himself down and finished the assignment in record time
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of buckled
When activated, the feature prevents the driver from shifting out of park for 20 seconds or until their seat belt is buckled; on many models, that applies to a front seat passenger as well, whose belt must also be buckled before the driver can shift out of park.
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Jackie Charniga, USA Today, 10 Jan. 2026
Your family, already buckled into the SUV, might feel their virtue threatened and decide to poke fun at you.
—Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 30 Dec. 2025
They're buckled into cars for safety tests to gather information on what would happen to a real person in a crash.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 17 Dec. 2025
The shoes featured a pointed toe, tall heel and two slender buckled straps across the vamp.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 16 Dec. 2025
The month before, Paramount buckled to Trump in a $16 million suit over a 2024 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which the President alleged was edited to swing the election in her favor.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Dec. 2025
Parents can use blankets or place the coat over the child after the harness is buckled for warmth.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 9 Dec. 2025
The Brentwood Volunteer Fire Company said on social media that part of the road buckled because of the incident.
—Garrett Behanna, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
Instead of being strapped into a car seat, she’s buckled into a stroller bassinet, missing one shoe and wearing an unimpressed expression.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buckled
Verb
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The sofa was so collapsed that getting up from it felt like core strength training.—
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And then on Thursday, after most of the show had been written, a man collapsed in the Oval Office, generating an instantly meme-able photograph of the president staring into the camera, looking oblivious to efforts to revive the prone victim at stage left.—
Verb
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What a slap in the face to the folks who’ve studied, who’ve researched, who’ve invented, who’ve saved lives, who’ve fought for their lives, who’ve lost their lives, who’ve devoted their lives to keeping that last group as small as possible.—
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The Spanish chef’s fine-dining concept is an homage to the glories of the world’s oceans, with a strong emphasis on the bounty of the local waters that includes lionfish, Mahi Mahi, and an entire menu section devoted entirely to various renditions of conch.—
Verb
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Then, after Barnes had dragged Newcastle level and the home side had built up attacking pressure, Thiaw crumpled under a challenge from Calvert-Lewin inside his own box, stuck out an arm and handled Jaka Bijol’s nod-down.—
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The Nuggets were playing the Miami Heat when Jokic crumpled to the ground holding his knee at the tail end of the first half.—
Verb
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Macro factors like lower consumer demand, higher material and labor costs, and a trend in consumer trade-down to lower margin tire products have applied significant margin and growth pressure.—
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And some Venezuelans, who applied to renew earlier this year, had their TPS extended through early April.—
Verb
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The trend is not shiny, glass mosaics, but rather tumbled stone in subtle, natural colors.—
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Memory storage plays — Data storage stocks tumbled as investors continued to cash in after their recent run-up.—
Verb
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The new mom gave a baby update in December, sharing a photo of her baby bump in the mirror along with other snapshots.—
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Marshall Chiles, who founded the Laughing Skull Lounge in Midtown, gave The Atlanta Journal-Constitution an exclusive tour of the 6,000-square-foot space behind Dancing Goats Coffee Shop.—
Cite this Entry
“Buckled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buckled. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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