buckle up

verb

To fasten with a buckle.

“Buckle up every time you drive somewhere in a car, and make sure your passengers buckle up, too.”

Similar
belt up
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Meanings

verbbuckle up (third-person singular simple present buckles up, present participle buckling up, simple past and past participle buckled up)

present singular third person buckles up · participle present buckling up · participle past buckled up · past buckled up

  1. transitiveTo fasten with a buckle.

    It was eight o'clock to-morrow evening when I buckled up my travelling writing-desk in its leather case, paid my Bill, and got on my warm coats and wrappers.

    1855, Charles Dickens, “The Holly-tree. Third Branch—The Bill”, in Christmas Stories […] (The Works of Charles Dickens; XV), de luxe edition, London: Chapman and Hall, published 1881, →OCLC, page 63
  2. idiomaticintransitiveTo fasten one's seat belt or safety belt.

    Buckle up every time you drive somewhere in a car, and make sure your passengers buckle up, too.

    Synonyms: belt up

  3. broadlyidiomaticimperativeintransitiveusuallyTo get ready, to prepare oneself.

    So buckle up for what's coming, readers!

    2019 February 27, Robert Kirkman, Outcast By Kirkman & Azaceta #39, Image Comics

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo fasten one's seat belt or safety belt.

Similar
belt up
Also see
belt up

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 繫上安全帶 /系上安全带
  • 繫上安全帶 /系上安全带 (jìshang ānquándài)to fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
Czech připoutat se
  • připoutat seto fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
Finnish kiinnittää turvavyö
  • kiinnittää turvavyöto fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
French s'attacher
  • s'attacherto fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
German (sich) anschnallen
  • (sich) anschnallento fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
Italian allacciarsi impegnarsi
  • allacciarsi impegnarsito fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
Polish zapinać pasy, zapiąć pasy
  • zapinać pasyto fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
  • zapiąć pasyto fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
Portuguese colocar o cinto de segurança, colocar o cinto
  • colocar o cinto de segurançato fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
  • colocar o cintoto fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
Spanish abrochar el cinturón
  • abrochar el cinturónto fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
Swedish spänna fast sig, använda/fästa säkerhetsbälte
  • spänna fast sigto fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
  • använda/fästa säkerhetsbälteto fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
Turkish emniyet kemerini bağlamak
  • emniyet kemerini bağlamakto fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
Cite this entry
APA

buckle up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buckle%20up

MLA

“buckle up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buckle%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “buckle up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buckle%20up.

Source: buckle up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.