Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
turnbuckle

turnbuckle

1 9.6
A metal sleeve with threaded ends that changes the tightness of a cable when turned
  • noun
  • /ˈtɜrnˌbʌkəl/
  • Specialized
: tensores
  • The short girders were crosspieces; the long rods with the turnbuckles were diagonal braces.
  • a top turnbuckle
  • steel turnbuckles
  • a middle turnbuckle

Examples

  • When the circus comes to town, for instance, the floor has to already have built into its surface the points for attaching all those turnbuckles.

    Academic text (2000)

  • To secure the tent, make sure to adjust each turnbuckle until the fabric is tight.

  • Peter shook his head, twisted a turnbuckle past the stripped place on the threads.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The workers used a turnbuckle to help stabilize the cable during construction.

  • He rotated the turnbuckle carefully to increase the tension on the wire rope.

Surface Forms

turnbuckle singular
turnbuckles plural

Morphology

turnbuckle = turn + buckle (transparent) = turn + buckle

The compound clearly combines the actions/objects 'turn' (rotate) and 'buckle' (fastener) to name a device operated by turning to adjust a buckle-like fastening.

Etymology

Turnbuckle comes from the parts turn and buckle, where turn means 'to rotate' and buckle is like the buckle on a belt that 'fastens' things. So a turnbuckle is a metal fitting you turn to pull, tighten, or shorten ropes and wires, which is exactly what the tool does today.