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Glite Dictionary
to break the buck

to break the buck

9.8
A money market fund's share price falls below one dollar
  • idiom
  • Literature
translation icon : devaluarse
  • Europe was healthy before 2008 and before the cabal broke the buck.

Examples

  • When the Reserve Primary Fund broke the buck, it caused panic among investors who had trusted its stability.

  • One huge money market fund broke the buck, as they say.

  • If Tether breaks the buck, crypto is in massive danger.

  • Last year, a major money market fund broke the buck when its share price fell below one dollar.

  • Investors were worried when the fund broke the buck, signaling trouble in the financial markets.

Synonyms

to crash
vsto break the buck
  • Informal
87 4.8

To fall suddenly in value, especially for prices or markets

is a specific drop below a fixed value rather than a broad collapse
breaking the buck
vsto break the buck
  • US
9.9

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

is identical in meaning but appears as a shorter verb phrase form

Antonyms

to maintain
931 3.1

Keep an activity, quality, or schedule going over time

to stabilize
  • US
75 4.3

To become steady and stop changing

How Low

to plummet
93 5.8
to break the buck
  • Literature
9.8
to slip
184 3.5
subpar
  • Specialized
6.4

Surface Forms

break the buck infinitive
broke the buck past
broken the buck past participle
breaking the buck present participle
breaks the buck third person singular

Morphology

break + the + buck

While 'buck' clearly denotes a dollar and 'break' suggests causing a failure or crossing a limit, the specific technical sense 'to fall below one dollar' is specialized financial jargon and not directly derivable from the literal parts. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely not predict the precise monetary threshold meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Break the buck comes from money funds that try to keep each share worth one dollar. If the share price falls below that one-dollar mark, the fund is said to break the buck, so the phrase means 'to fall below one dollar'.