1. n. & v.
--n.
1. the male of various animals, esp. the deer, hare, or rabbit.
2 archaic a fashionable young man.
3 (attrib.) a sl. male (buck antelope). b US Mil. of the lowest rank (buck private).
--v.
1. intr. (of a horse) jump upwards with back arched and feet drawn together.
2 tr. a (usu. foll. by off) throw (a rider or burden) in this way. b US oppose, resist.
3 tr. & intr. (usu. foll. by up) colloq. a make or become more cheerful. b hurry.
4 tr. (as bucked adj.) colloq. encouraged, elated.
Phrases and idioms:
buck fever US nervousness when called on to act. buck-horn horn of buck as a material for knife-handles etc. buck-hound a small kind of staghound. buck rarebit Welsh rarebit with a poached egg on top. buck-tooth an upper tooth that projects.
Derivatives:
bucker n.
Etymology: OE buc male deer, bucca male goat, f. ON 2. n. US etc. sl. a dollar.
Phrases and idioms:
a fast buck easy money.
Etymology: 19th c.: orig. unkn. 3. n. sl. an article placed as a reminder before a player whose turn it is to deal at poker.
Phrases and idioms:
pass the buck colloq. shift responsibility (to another).
Etymology: 19th c.: orig. unkn. 4. n.1 US a saw-horse.
2 a vaulting-horse.
Etymology: Du. (zaag)boc 5. n. the body of a cart.
Etymology: perh. f. obs. bouk belly, f. OE buc f. Gmc 6. n. conversation; boastful talk.
Etymology: Hindi buk buk