unbuckle

verb

un·​buck·​le ˌən-ˈbə-kəl How to pronounce unbuckle (audio)
unbuckled; unbuckling

transitive verb

: to loose the buckle of : unfasten

intransitive verb

1
: to loosen buckles
2
: relax

Examples of unbuckle in a Sentence

She unbuckled her seat belt.
Recent Examples on the Web The man unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door. Jared Lemus, The Atlantic, 9 Mar. 2024 Experts said the incident could have been far worse if passengers had been seated next to that section or if the incident occurred later in the flight when people typically unbuckle their seat belts. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2024 This occurred after Collins continued to unbuckle his seatbelt and stand up on the flight. Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 1 Feb. 2024 Reinstall them in spacious state rooms, and the allegorical intentions about which the curators’ captions inform me—how, for instance, a putto unbuckling Mars’s armor in the Dulwich painting slyly chides the hawks who were driving forward the Thirty Years’ War—might just fall into place. Julian Bell, The New York Review of Books, 26 Dec. 2023 San Diego State built a defensive pedigree for so long — popping pads and unbuckling chin straps so often — that the NCAA statistics seem to be misprints. Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2023 Seide opens the driver side door, as well, and appears to begin unbuckling Cobb’s seat belt with both hands. Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2023 To this point, Bailey also says with having to unbuckle toddlers from their car seats in the case of an emergency, this scenario seems even more unsafe, in her view. Melissa Willets, Parents, 7 July 2023 Upon spotting a person inside, Taylor uses a baton to break the driver side window while shouting warnings to the driver, telling them to unbuckle their seatbelt and get out of the car. Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 6 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unbuckle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of unbuckle was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near unbuckle

Cite this Entry

“Unbuckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unbuckle. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

unbuckle

verb
un·​buck·​le ˌən-ˈbək-əl How to pronounce unbuckle (audio)
: to unfasten the buckle of (as a belt)

More from Merriam-Webster on unbuckle

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