buck1

noun

• 1the male of some horned animals, especially the fallow deer, roe deer, reindeer, and antelopes.
• a male hare, rabbit, ferret, rat, or kangaroo.
• South African an antelope of either sex.

• 2another term for vaulting horse.

• 3a vertical jump performed by a horse, with the head lowered, back arched, and back legs thrown out behind: the horse seemed to leap, making a mighty buck that shipped the rider off

• 4 archaic a fashionable and spirited young man: the dashing young buck, driving his own equipage

verb

• 1 [no object] (of a horse) to perform a buck:he’s got to get his head down to buck [with object]:she bucked them off if they tried to get on her back
• (of a vehicle) make sudden jerky movements: the boat began to buck in the water

• 2 [with object] oppose or resist (something oppressive or inevitable):the shares bucked the market trend

• 3 (buck someone up or buck up) informal make or become more cheerful: [with object]:Bella and Jim need me to buck them up [no object]:buck up, kid, it’s not the end of the game

adjective

• lowest of a particular rank:a buck private