buck
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare, and sometimes the male of other animals such as the hamster, ferret, salmonid, shad and kangaroo.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
buhkIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbʌk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare, and sometimes the male of other animals such as the hamster, ferret, salmonid, shad and kangaroo.
Mature male of various mammals (especially deer or antelope)
us
An uncastrated sheep, a ram.
Africa
An antelope of either sex; compare with Afrikaans bok.
A young buck; an adventurous, impetuous, dashing, or high-spirited young man.
A unit of a particular currency
verb
transitiveof a horse or similar saddle or pack animal
To throw (a rider or pack) by bucking.
Jump vertically, with legs stiff and back arched
intransitiveof a horse or similar saddle or pack animal
To leap upward arching its back, coming down with head low and forelegs stiff, forcefully kicking its hind legs upward, often in an attempt to dislodge or throw a rider or pack.
intransitiveby extension
To resist obstinately; oppose or object strongly.
intransitiveby extension
To move or operate in a sharp, jerking, or uneven manner.
transitiveby extension
To overcome or shed (e.g., an impediment or expectation), in pursuit of a goal; to force a way through despite (an obstacle); to resist or proceed against.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare, and sometimes the male of other animals such as the hamster, ferret, salmonid, shad and kangaroo.
Used this way, buck is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use buck
- “John is bucking for a promotion.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A wild horse that is vicious and difficult or impossible to break in.
Gain courage.
A sergeant of the lowest rank in the military.
An enlisted man of the lowest rank in the Army or Marines.
Nervous excitement of an inexperienced hunter.
A solo tap dance emphasizing sharp taps.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.