How do you say “Buckle down” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is se mettre sérieusement au travail, which literally means “to get down seriously to work”. English speakers use buckle down to mean to start working seriously and with determination. A clear French paraphrase for starting to work with real effort. It sounds less forceful than the English idiom. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
se mettre sérieusement au travail
/sə mɛtʁ seʁjøzmɑ̃ o tʁavaj/
- Literal meaning
- “to get down seriously to work”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
94 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
“Se mettre au travail” describes starting work. “Sérieusement” adds the determination that makes it a useful match here.
Name the task if it is not obvious. The expression works for studying, rehearsing or finishing a practical job.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
I’ve put this essay off long enough; tonight I’m going to buckle down.
French
J’ai assez repoussé cette dissertation ; ce soir, je vais me mettre sérieusement au travail.
English
Once we buckled down to rehearsing, the difficult scene began to work.
French
Quand nous nous sommes mis à répéter sérieusement, la scène difficile a commencé à fonctionner.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-11-13