buckle up

buckle up

1. To anchor or fasten something or someone in place. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "buckle" and "up." Are the bikes securely buckled up? Can you please buckle the baby up in her highchair?
2. To anchor or fasten oneself or another in place with a seatbelt, as in a vehicle. A noun or pronoun can be used between "buckle" and "up." Can you buckle the baby up while I put our bags in the trunk? This car is not moving until everyone is buckled up!
3. To bend at the waist. She keeps buckling up and clutching her stomach, so the pain must be pretty bad—let's take her to the doctor.
4. slang Prepare for what is about to happen, such as danger, excitement, trouble, etc. The boss is in a terrible mood today, so buckle up! Buckle up, folks. This game is going down to the wire!
See also: buckle, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

buckle someone or something up

to attach someone or something securely with straps that buckle together. (This emphasizes the completeness and secureness of the act.) Buckle the children up before we leave. Buckle up your shoes.
See also: buckle, up

buckle up

 and belt up
to buckle one's seat belt, as in a car or plane. Please buckle up so our flight can begin. I wish you would obey the law and belt up.
See also: buckle, up
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

buckle up

Fasten a seat belt, as in All the children must learn to buckle up as soon as they get in a car. This term came into wide use in the second half of the 1900s, when seat belts became mandatory automobile equipment. Earlier they had been used mainly in airplanes.
See also: buckle, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

buckle up

v.
1. To secure something or someone with straps that fasten together with buckles: Buckle up your shoes. We buckled the baby up in its car seat.
2. To fasten one's seat belt: The first thing I did when I got on the plane was to buckle up.
3. To bend or fold in half at the middle: Everyone buckled up with laughter when they heard my jokes.
See also: buckle, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • orient
  • orient to
  • orient to (something)
  • spiff up
  • spiffed up
  • back into
  • back into (someone or something)
  • angle
  • angling
  • rescue from
References in periodicals archive
Other facebook users also complained about the Groupon posting on the Buckle Up page.
Fury at fake seat belt top
"Yes, I do." But Hurley doubts primary enforcement of seat belt laws will noticeably worsen the problem, and he argues that it makes sense as a matter of consistency: If you can be pulled over for a broken tail light, why not for failing to buckle up ?
And once he is stopped, a motorcyclist may be forced to park his vehicle and walk, unlike an unbelted driver, who can simply buckle up and continue on his way after getting a warning or a ticket.
Freedom riders: how motorcyclists won the right to feel the wind in their hair--and why drivers still have to buckle up
Studies so far indicate that people who drive in cars with air bags are just as likely to buckle up as others.
Automatic automotive safety?
"Buckle Up's" goal, Skinner reported, is to increase seatbelt usage from the current 50-percent level to 70 percent by 1992.
Beer Institute members convene in Washington for 5th annual meeting