Join Us On

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Thesaurus

Medical

Scrabble^®

Spanish Central

Browse Dictionary Browse Thesaurus

Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android

Dictionary

¹buck

noun \ˈbək\

plural bucks

Definition of BUCK

or plural buck : a male animal; especially : a male deer or antelope

a : a male human being : man

b : a dashing fellow : dandy

or plural buck : antelope

a : buckskin; also : an article (as a shoe) made of buckskin

b (1) : dollar 3b (2) : a sum of money especially to be gained <make a quick buck>; also : money —usually used in plural

[short for sawbuck sawhorse]

a : a supporting rack or frame

b : a short thick leather-covered block for gymnastic vaulting

Origin of BUCK

Middle English, from Old English bucca stag, he-goat; akin to Old High German boc he-goat, Middle Irish bocc

First Known Use: before 12th century

Other Mammals Terms

dormouse, dugong, gibbon, grimalkin, sable, stoat, ungulate, vole

Rhymes with BUCK

chuck, cluck, cruck, duck, guck, huck, luck, muck, pluck, puck, ruck, schmuck, shuck, struck, suck, truck, Truk, tuck, yech, yuck

²buck

verb

of a horse : to jump violently into the air with the back bent upward

: to oppose or resist (something or someone)

Full Definition of BUCK

transitive verb

a archaic : ¹butt

b : oppose, resist <bucking the system>

: to throw (as a rider) by bucking

: to charge into (as a headwind)

a : to pass especially from one person to another

b : to move or load (as heavy objects) especially with mechanical equipment

intransitive verb

of a horse or mule : to spring into the air with the back arched

: to charge against something

a : to move or react jerkily

b : to refuse assent : balk

: to strive for advancement sometimes without regard to ethical behavior <bucking for a promotion>

— buck·er noun

See buck defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of BUCK

1750

Related to BUCK

Synonyms: jerk, hitch, hoick, jolt, twitch, yank

Antonyms: bow (to), capitulate (to), give in (to), knuckle under (to), stoop (to), submit (to), succumb (to), surrender (to), yield (to)

³buck

noun

Definition of BUCK

: an act or instance of bucking

First Known Use of BUCK

circa 1877

⁴buck

noun

Definition of BUCK

: an object formerly used in poker to mark the next player to deal; broadly : a token used as a mark or reminder

: responsibility —used especially in the phrases pass the buck and the buck stops here

Origin of BUCK

short for earlier buckhorn knife

First Known Use: 1865

⁵buck

adjective

Definition of BUCK

: of the lowest grade within a military category <a buck private>

Origin of BUCK

probably from ¹buck

First Known Use: 1918

⁶buck

adverb

Definition of BUCK

: stark, completely <buck naked>

Origin of BUCK

origin unknown

First Known Use: 1928

Buck

biographical name \ˈbək\

Definition of BUCK

Linda B. 1947– Am. biol.

Buck

biographical name

Definition of BUCK

Pearl 1892–1973 née Sy*den*strick*er \ˈsī-d^ən-ˌstri-kər\ Am. nov.

BUCK Defined for Kids

¹buck

noun \ˈbək\

Definition of BUCK for Kids

: the male of an animal (as a deer or rabbit) the female of which is called doe

: dollar <The cost is ten bucks.>

: ¹man 1, fellow

Word History of BUCK

The word buck in the sense “dollar” was originally short for buckskin, in other words, the skin of a male deer. In colonial America, especially in the southeastern colonies, American Indians hunted deer and prepared their hides to trade for European goods. “Bucks,” or buckskins, became a means of calculating the value of goods, and the word was transferred to the dollar when the deerskin trade came to an end.