Sense: 1,4
Date: 1800-1900
Origin: Perhaps from buckskin; because it was used as a unit of exchange in trade with Native Americans.
Sense: 2
Date: 1900-2000
Origin: buck 'object used in the card game of poker to mark the next person to play' (19-20 centuries), from buckhorn knife 'knife with a handle made from a buck's horn' (19-20 centuries).
Sense: 3, 5
Origin: Old English bucca 'male deer or goat'


1 noun
buck1 S1 [countable]


informal a US, Canadian, or Australian dollar:
He owes me ten bucks.
The movie is about a group of men trying to make a buck (=earn some money) as male strippers.
big/mega bucks (=a lot of money)
Using celebrities in advertising is guaranteed to pull in big bucks.
make a fast/quick buck (=make some money quickly, often dishonestly)

the buck stops here

also the buck stops with somebody used to say that a particular person is responsible for something:
The buck stops firmly with the boss.

pass the buck

to make someone else them responsible for something that you should deal with


HBA plural buck or bucks a male rabbit, deer, and some other male animals [↪ doe]

feel/look like a million bucks

informal especially American English to feel or look very healthy, happy, and beautiful


old-fashioned a young man

➔ (get) a bigger/better etc bang for your buck

at bang1 (5)

Explore ANIMALS Topic

Word of the Day
The ANIMALS Word of the Day is:

Other related topics