unbuckled

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive

   opened the buckle of something, such as a belt, shoe, or seatbelt

   Grammar: Takes an object: He unbuckled his seatbelt. The object is usually the item with the buckle.

   Patterns

   • unbuckle something
   • unbuckle a seatbelt
   • unbuckle a belt

   She unbuckled her seatbelt as soon as the plane stopped.

   He unbuckled his shoes and left them by the door.

   The child unbuckled the strap on the car seat by himself.

2. 2verbintransitive

   became unfastened, as a buckle coming open by itself

   Grammar: No object; the subject is the buckle or the item: The belt unbuckled during the ride.

   Patterns

   • something unbuckles
   • the buckle unbuckled

   The old belt unbuckled while he was walking.

   Her sandal unbuckled in the middle of the race.

Word forms

Common combinations

unbuckle a seatbelt

Please keep your seatbelt buckled until the captain says you can unbuckle it.

unbuckle a belt

He unbuckled his belt after the big meal.

unbuckle a shoe

She sat down to unbuckle her shoes.

unbuckle a strap

The nurse unbuckled the strap around his arm.

Synonyms and how they differ

unfasten

A more general word for opening anything that is closed, not just buckles.

undo

Often used for buttons, zippers, or knots, while 'unbuckle' is only for buckles.

loosen

Means to make something less tight, but not necessarily to open the buckle.

Opposites

Word family

buckle noun

a metal or plastic fastener for a belt, shoe, or strap

buckle verb

to fasten a buckle

buckled adjective

fastened with a buckle

Commonly confused: unbuckled or buckled?

Practice

Make it your own

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

Explore more words