noun
Common
buck
BUHK
Buck (noun) means an adult male deer or similar animal. Example: “A buck and two does grazed in the meadow at dawn.”
noun
1
An adult male deer or similar animal.
"A buck and two does grazed in the meadow at dawn."
"The breeder kept the rabbit buck in a separate hutch."
"A buck stood at the edge of the woods, antlers catching the light."
2
Informal, especially American, word for a dollar.
"I only had a few bucks left in my wallet."
"Could you lend me a buck for the vending machine?"
"That coffee cost me five bucks."
verb
1
Of a horse, to jump with an arched back and kick out the hind legs, often to throw off a rider.
"The nervous pony bucked as soon as the saddle touched its back."
"Hold on tight, because that young stallion will buck if anything startles him."
"The horse bucked wildly and threw its rider into the mud."
2
To resist or oppose something strongly, especially a trend or authority.
"A few brave members decided to buck the committee and vote against the plan."
"Some teenagers like to buck the rules just to see what happens."
"The small firm decided to buck the trend and expand during the recession."
How to use buck
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA male deer, informal slang for a dollar, or (as a verb) to kick upward violently or to resist something.
Common mistake
"Pass the buck" (avoid responsibility) uses an old poker sense of buck as a marker, unrelated to the dollar meaning.
Common pairings
buck the trend
make a quick buck
buck wildly
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Word forms
- Plural
- bucks
- Third person singular
- bucks
- Past tense
- bucked
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
A _____ and two does grazed in the meadow at dawn.
Etymology
From Old English bucca ("he-goat, stag"). The dollar sense comes from "buckskin," once used as a unit of trade among American frontier traders.
Synonyms
View more →Related words
Rhymes for buck
See all rhymes for buck →Frequently asked questions
What does “buck” mean?
The word “buck” means an adult male deer or similar animal. In plain terms, a male deer, informal slang for a dollar, or (as a verb) to kick upward violently or to resist something.
How do you pronounce “buck”?
“Buck” is pronounced BUHK (/ˈbʌk/ in IPA).
How do you use “buck” in a sentence?
Here is “buck” used in a sentence: “A buck stood at the edge of the woods, antlers catching the light.”
What part of speech is “buck”?
Depending on how it is used, “buck” can be a noun and a verb.
Where does the word “buck” come from?
The word “buck” comes from Old English. From Old English bucca ("he-goat, stag"). The dollar sense comes from "buckskin," once used as a unit of trade among American frontier traders.
Is “buck” a common word?
“Buck” is a fairly common word in modern English.
How many meanings does “buck” have?
“Buck” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an adult male deer or similar animal.
Why is a dollar called a buck?
The informal use of buck for a dollar is most often traced to buckskins — deer hides — which served as a unit of trade on the early American frontier. The animal sense of buck, an adult male deer, is therefore thought to sit behind the money sense, which stayed in the language long after hides stopped changing hands.
If a male deer is a buck, what is the female called?
A female deer is a doe, and a young deer is a fawn. Buck refers to the adult male, and the same buck-and-doe pairing is used for several similar animals, including rabbits.
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