to buck

Examples

• All

• But if you hold the reins too tight, that racehorse is going to fight and buck, which is no fun for anyone.

  Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011)

• She's bucking like a bronco.

  The Black Hole (1979)

• -Did that horse buck you off?

  The Great Outdoors (1988)

• Pull her in tight, she likes to buck.

  The Killer Elite (1975)

• He just started trying to buck me off.

  Freaky (2020)

• They buck and rear and run.

  Mercy (2021)

• The horses buck and bolt off as the creatures launch a savage attack.

  Fiction book (1999)

• Didn't I fix your arm once when you were, oh — bucked off a horse?

  Stagecoach (1939)

• Some big damn gelding bucked me before I'd dug in, and I landed smack on my tailbone.

  Fiction book (1990)

• The rodeo rider held on tight as the bull began to buck violently beneath him.

Idioms

B

bang for the buck

• US

7 4.4

A good value for the money you spend

S

to save a buck

• Informal

2 6.4

Spend less money than usual when you buy something

B

to break the buck

• Literature

9.8

A money market fund's share price falls below one dollar

B

breaking the buck

• US

9.9

A loss for investors that happens when a money market fund's share falls below one dollar

B

to buck up your ideas

• UK

9.2

Try harder and make your work and attitude better

Phrasal Verbs

B

to buck up

• Informal

14 6.3

To become or make someone more cheerful and confident

B

to buck for

• Archaic

9 8.2

To try hard to get praise or a promotion from someone like a boss

B

to buck the trend

3 6.9

To do something different from what most people do

Compounds

Y

young buck

• Slang

9 7.9

A young man who is full of energy and wants to prove himself

Q

quick buck

• Informal

9 5.3

Money made quickly, often with little work or by dishonest ways

F

fast buck

• Slang

3 7.9

Money earned quickly, often by dishonest or easy ways

B

buck private

• Archaic

1 8.2

A soldier with the lowest rank in the US Army or Marines

B

buck sergeant

• Archaic

1 8.2

A low-ranking soldier who leads a small group in the army or Marines

B

buck-and-wing

• Archaic

1 9.9

A lively solo tap dance with fast, energetic footwork

B

buck-passing

1 7.1

Act of putting blame on others to avoid doing a job you should do

B

black buck

• Indian

8.7

An antelope with a dark back and spiral horns that lives in India

B

buck fever

• Jargon

9.6

A nervous feeling a beginner hunter has when they see an animal

B

buck-passing culture

7.9

A workplace culture where people avoid responsibility by blaming others

Surface Forms

Etymology