buckling down

Meaning

1. 1phrasephrasal verb

   Starting to work seriously and with effort, especially after not working hard enough.

   Grammar: Intransitive: you buckle down to something or buckle down and do something. The object comes after 'to' or after 'and'.

   Patterns

   • buckling down to something
   • buckling down and doing something
   • be buckling down

   After a slow start, the team is finally buckling down to finish the project.

   If you want to pass the exam, you need to start buckling down and studying every evening.

   He stopped complaining and began buckling down to the work he had been avoiding.

Common combinations

buckle down to work

The deadline is near, so we should buckle down to work.

buckle down and study

She buckled down and studied for three hours straight.

start buckling down

You need to start buckling down if you want better grades.

really buckle down

He really buckled down after his teacher warned him.

Synonyms and how they differ

get down to

Focuses on starting a task rather than on working hard over time; 'buckle down' suggests sustained effort.

apply yourself

Means to work hard and use your abilities; 'buckle down' is more informal and often about a specific task.

knuckle down

Very similar, but 'knuckle down' is slightly more informal and common in British English.

Opposites

Word family

buckle verb

To fasten something with a buckle; also used in the phrase 'buckle down'.

buckled adjective

Fastened with a buckle, or bent out of shape.

Commonly confused: buckling down or buckle?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “buckling down”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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