buckle

1. (transitive)Examples: "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."; "[H]ovv briefe the Life of man / runs his erring pilgrimage, / That the ſtretching of a ſpan, / buckles in his ſumme of age."; "It is a ſigne that a man hath to doe vvith a ſtrong enemie vvhen he buckleth on all his harneſſe, and calleth together all his ſtrength for oppoſition."Antonyms: unbuckletransitive

2. (transitive)Examples: "For this cauſe whẽ the faithfull find themſelues to haue ouercome Satan in one incounter by the grace of Chriſt, let them take good heede that they imagin not their battel to be at an end: but rather let them buckle themſelues to a new charge, and valiantly aduance themſelues to handſtrokes againe."; "He left his lofty ſteede to aide him neare, / And buckling ſoone him ſelfe, gan fiercely fly / Vppon that Carle, to ſaue his friend from ieopardy."; "To be breef, haukes ſeeme not to differ, ſaue that all of them doe not flie at all kinde of birds and foules alike, for in deede euery one of them buckleth himſelfe vnto the bird, to the flying vvhereof he is giuen and addicted, and not to others."Synonyms: buckle downfigurativelyreflexivetransitive

3. (transitive)Examples: "[T]ake my advice, and marry in the firſt place vvhere vve can find a curate; or make uſe of our friend the licentiate, vvho vvill buckle you handſomely."; "They were hailed […] as a young strapping Irishman, conveying an ancient maiden to Dr Rigmarole's at Redriffe, who buckles beggars for a tester and a dram of Geneva."Britishfigurativelytransitive

4. (intransitive, figurative)Examples: "Sir John diſdainfully looking at him, ſaluted him vvith theſe VVords, Farevvel Sir Knave, (for it is to be noted that it is common vvith him to term many honeſt Men ſo). My Brother anſvvered, Sir, You are no leſs. VVhereat one of Sir John’s Men buckled to fight vvith him. But Sir John ſtayed his Man."; "The firſt thing vve doe in the morning before vve either eate or drink, or buckle about any vvorldly buſineſſe, is to put our clothes about vs: vve ſay, vve are not ready, till vve haue done that."; "[For a man] to be deceiued, vvith too long Shadovves, […] And ſo to ſhoot off before the time; Or to teach dangers to come on, by ouer early Buckling tovvards them, is another Extreme."figurativelyintransitive

5. (intransitive, figurative)Examples: "Yet thou, they ſay, for Marriage do'ſt provide: / Is this an Age to Buckle vvith a Bride?"Britishfigurativelyintransitive

6. (intransitive, figurative)Examples: "So they buckled together, and the Heithen were diſcomfited, and fled ouer the playne felde: but the hynmoſt of them were ſlayne."; "VVell, it chanced that the Lord Protector [Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester] and he [Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester] fell out, and the Biſhop vvould bear nothing at all vvith him, but played me the Satrapa; ſo the Regent of France vvas fain to be ſent for from beyond the ſeas, to ſet them at one, and go betvveen them: For the Biſhop vvas as able and ready to buckle vvith the Lord Protector as he vvas vvith him."; "In ſingle Combat thou ſhalt buckle vvith me; / And if thou vanquiſheſt, thy vvords are true, / Othervviſe I renounce all confidence."dialectalfigurativelyintransitive

1. (transitive)Examples: "[R]eaſon doth buckle and bovve the Mind vnto the Nature of things."; "Throw all their ſcandalous malice upon me? / 'Cauſe I am poor, deform'd and ignorant, / And like a Bow buckl'd and bent together, / By ſome more ſtrong in miſchiefs then my ſelf?"transitive

2. (transitive)obsoletetransitive

3. (intransitive)Examples: "And as the vvretch vvhoſe feuer-vveakned ioynts, / Like ſtrengthleſſe hinges buckle vnder life, / […] euen ſo my limbes, / VVeakened vvith griefe, being novv enragde vvith griefe, / Are thrice themſelues: […]"; "And thus by placing Collers vvhere ever they find the VVork buckle, they (as aforeſaid) vvith Sharp Tools, tender touches, ſomevvhat a looſe and fine String, vveak Bovv, and great care and diligence vvork the vvhole Cilinder dovvn as ſmall as they liſt, either vvith Moldings or other VVork upon it, as beſt likes them."; "Sideways leaning, we sideways darted; every ropeyarn tingling like a wire; the two tall masts buckling like Indian canes in land tornadoes."Synonyms: cave#Verb, cave in#Verb, crumple#Verb, fold#English:_fall over or collapseintransitive

4. (intransitive)Examples: "It is amazing that he has never buckled after so many years of doing such urgent work."; "Mr. Gray did tell me to-night, for certain, that the Dutch, as high as they seem, do begin to buckle; and that one man in this Kingdom did tell the King that he is offered £40,000 to make a peace, and others have been offered money also."Synonyms: break#Verb, buck#Etymology_2, cave#Verb, crumple#Verb, fold#English:_give way or give up, surrender#Verbfigurativelyintransitive

1. (countable) A distortion; a bend, bulge, or kink.Examples: "We can’t use that saw any more. It’s got a buckle in its blade."countable

2. (countable) A distortion; a bend, bulge, or kink.countableuncountable

3. (countable, Canada, US, baking) Usually preceded by a descriptive word: a cake baked with fresh fruit (often blueberries) and a streusel topping.CanadaUScountable

4. (countable, obsolete) A curl of hair, especially a kind of crisp curl formerly worn; also (countable, uncountable), the state of hair being curled in this manner.Examples: "The greatest beau at our next county sessions was dressed in a most monstrous flaxen periwig, that was made in king William's reign. The wearer of it goes, it seems, in his own hair when he is at home, and lets his wig lie in buckle for a whole half year, that he may put it on upon occasion to meet the judges in it."; "For vvhat's a VVoman, vvhen her Virtue's gone? / A Coat vvithout its Lace; VVig out of Buckle; / A Stocking vvith a Hole in't."; "That live-long VVig vvhich Gorgon's ſelf might ovvn, / Eternal buckle takes in Parian ſtone."countableobsolete