buck
/ˈbʌk/noun, verb
buck is spelled B-U-C-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 7,009th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, buck means “A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare, and sometimes the male of other animals such as the hamster, ferret, salmonid, shad, skunk and…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of buck is bucks.
How many letters and syllables are in buck?
| Letters | 4: B-U-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 7,009th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is buck?
Buck appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 7,009th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce buck?
- US /ˈbʌk/
- /ˈbʊk/
- /ˈbɜk/
Buck has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: EN-AU_ck1_buck.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with buck?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as buck from its last stressed vowel (/ʌk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of buck
- bucks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- bucking participle, present
- bucked participle, past
- bouk
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does buck mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare, and sometimes the male of other animals such as the hamster, ferret, salmonid, shad, skunk and kangaroo.
- 2
USAn uncastrated sheep, a ram.
- 3
An antelope of either sex; compare with Afrikaans bok.
- 4
The sound made by a chicken.
- 5
A young buck; an adventurous, impetuous, dashing, or high-spirited young man.
- 6
UKobsoleteA fop or dandy.
- 7
USdatedderogatoryA black or Native American man.
- 8
AustraliaderogatoryobsoleteAn Aboriginal man.
- 9
ScotlandThe beech tree.
- 10
archaicLye or suds in which cloth is soaked in the operation of bleaching, or in which clothes are washed.
- 11
archaicThe cloth or clothes soaked or washed.
- 12
UKarchaicThe body of a cart or waggon, especially the front part.
- 13
UKarchaicBelly, breast, chest.
- 14
UKarchaicSize.
verb
- 1
To copulate, as bucks and does.
- 2
To bend; buckle.
- 3
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.
- 4
To throw (a rider or pack) by bucking.
- 5
To resist obstinately; oppose or object strongly.
The vice president bucked at the board’s latest solution.
- 6
To move or operate in a sharp, jerking, or uneven manner.
The motor bucked and sputtered before dying completely.
- 7
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.
The plane bucked a strong headwind.
- 8
To subject to a mode of punishment which consists of tying the wrists together, passing the arms over the bent knees, and putting a stick across the arms and in the angle formed by the knees.
- 9
USslangTo strive or aspire e.g. to a promotion.
- 10
archaicTo soak, steep or boil in lye or suds, as part of the bleaching process.
- 11
archaicTo wash (clothes) in lye or suds, or, in later usage, by beating them on stones in running water
- 12
archaicTo break up or pulverize, as ores.
- 13
UKarchaicTo swell out.
- 14
archaicslangTo boast or brag.
And then […] he bucks with a quiet stubborn determination that would fill an American editor, or an Under Secretary of State with despair. He belongs to the 12-foot-tiger school, so perhaps he can't help it.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Buck in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bouc , piasse, balle , ruer |
| German | Bock, Rammler, Rüde , sich widersetzen |
| Portuguese | macho, gamo |
| Spanish | buco, gamo, macho, macho m cabrío, macho del conejo , caballerete |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does buck come from?
Inherited from Middle English bukke. Doublet of puck (“billy goat”). Currency-related senses hail from American English, a clipping of buckskin as a unit of trade among Native Americans and Europeans in frontier days (attested from 1748). The idea of rigidly standing implements is instilled by Dutch bok (“sawhorse”) as in zaagbok (“sawbuck”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).