1
as in yanking
to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion
the car bucked and stalled
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in resisting
to refuse to give in to
bucked the trend to outdo everyone else and just wore the same clothes they had in previous years
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in handing
to shift possession of (something) from one person to another
buck each box to the next person in line, and the last person will stack them in the storeroom
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bucking
Just Thursday morning, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) made another new all-time high, while the IGV software ETF fell to its lowest level since late April 2025 on Wednesday, bucking the broad market's recovery.
—
Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026
The Hoosiers, who are favored to beat Miami in the title game, are on the verge of bucking that trend.
—Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Murkowski made headlines in 2022 and 2024 for bucking her party and supporting Peltola‘s House campaigns.
—Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2026
By moving her inauguration out of the state capital of Trenton, the Garden State’s 57th governor — only the second woman in state history to be elected to the role — is bucking a 235-year-old tradition, local news site The Globe reports.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
But with years of successful and failed hires under their belt, bosses are bucking the status quo and chasing talent with human skills, work ethic, and integrity.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 7 Jan. 2026
The Garden, the usual host of Celtics basketball games and Bruins hockey games in the winter, transformed into an arena full of dirt and bucking chutes.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
Farmer’s Fridge may be bucking the trends in part due to its location, location, location mantra, tapping into shifting centers of activity and customers more likely to pay up for a healthy meal — without waiting in line, Tristano said.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
There was another video in which Kelce was the referee for a separate belly-bucking competition, hyping up the participants before calling the start of it.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 29 Nov. 2025
Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026
The Hoosiers, who are favored to beat Miami in the title game, are on the verge of bucking that trend.
—Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
Murkowski made headlines in 2022 and 2024 for bucking her party and supporting Peltola‘s House campaigns.
—Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2026
By moving her inauguration out of the state capital of Trenton, the Garden State’s 57th governor — only the second woman in state history to be elected to the role — is bucking a 235-year-old tradition, local news site The Globe reports.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
But with years of successful and failed hires under their belt, bosses are bucking the status quo and chasing talent with human skills, work ethic, and integrity.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 7 Jan. 2026
The Garden, the usual host of Celtics basketball games and Bruins hockey games in the winter, transformed into an arena full of dirt and bucking chutes.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
Farmer’s Fridge may be bucking the trends in part due to its location, location, location mantra, tapping into shifting centers of activity and customers more likely to pay up for a healthy meal — without waiting in line, Tristano said.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
There was another video in which Kelce was the referee for a separate belly-bucking competition, hyping up the participants before calling the start of it.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 29 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bucking
Verb
-
Trump did not take kindly to those remarks, responding with threats in Davos before yanking the Board of Peace invitation.—
Steven Sloan,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Discouraged home sellers are yanking the for-sale signs out of their front yards.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The driver of the car, identified as 36-year-old Amber O'Neal, was taken to the hospital and then booked into the Jefferson County Jail on unrelated, outstanding warrants for third-degree assault, vehicular eluding, and resisting arrest.—
Austen Erblat,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
More effective diplomacy, as demonstrated by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron at the same forum, conveys the same message about resisting bullying through measured language that preserves dignity and institutional respect.—
George Skelton,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
An attack on Greenland would shatter NATO, handing a strategic victory to Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin as the world's most successful defensive alliance collapses.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Jan. 2026
-
In the 40th minute, Evan Vaden buried a header into the top left corner of the net off an excellent ball from Lucas Petersen, handing Mission Bay a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.—
Clark Fahrenthold,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The tear-jerking dramedy featured a breakthrough role for Emilia Jones, an Oscar-winning, scene-stealing turn by Troy Kotsur and a thoughtful narrative that took audiences into the personal lives of a deaf family with a single hearing member.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
22 Jan. 2026
-
That jerking motion, combined with detergent and water, loosens dirt from the surfaces of clothing.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
27 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The visuals still take some getting used to — the lonely kicker set up 30 yards behind the nearest teammate, the coverage players and opposing blockers standing frozen as the kick sails over their heads.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The focus on Pretti’s gun both locally and nationally has drawn blowback from Democrats, gun rights advocates and some conservatives, a constellation of groups often on opposing sides of the gun debate.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Galliano, who was famously fired from Dior in 2011, after making antisemitic comments in a bar in Paris, also attended the show, as well as Jean Paul Gaultier, a show of baton-passing if there ever were one.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Authorities said Richardson was driving 104 mph and dangerously passing other motorists on the highway.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As his career skyrocketed, Chalamet spent years quietly training — aided by an expert on the sport, Diego Schaaf — by pulling a table-tennis setup along to productions ranging from Dune to Wonka.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Notre Dame didn’t mess around in pulling all that material together, looking like a program with a plan before the portal opened.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Natanya complicates her old-school character sketch with cerebral shifts in perspective, affecting each of the voices that accompany a young woman’s drive for success and independence (demanding friends and parents, sexist expectations, her own willpower) in a lurching cascade of melodies.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The midterm blue wave backlash is gathering, with the generic ballot lurching in the Democrats' favor and Trump’s popularity cratering.—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bucking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bucking. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
