buckled under
Collapsed from pressure
To buckle under is to yield to pressure or collapse under strain.
Someone buckles under when they can no longer resist demands, stress, or coercion: She buckled under the weight of her parents' expectations.
The phrase evokes structural failure—a beam buckling—applied to human resolve.
- giveTo transfer possession
- caved inCollapsed or capitulated
- crumpledCrushed into irregular folds
- succumbedStopped resisting, gave way
- threw in the towelConceded defeat, stopped trying
acquiesced · yielded · bend · submitted · relented · overwhelmed · defeated · snap · fold · surrendered · white flag · collapsed · capitulated · wilted · conceded · lost the battle · sagged · stressed
resistance to pressure
buckled understood one's ground
Refused to back down
held out · resisted · withstood · dug in · stood up to
psychological resolve
buckled underpersevered
Continued despite difficulty
endured · powered through · soldiered on · hung tough · stood tall