1
as in yanking
to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion
the car bucked and stalled
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Recent Examples of bucking
While the famed Médoc is known as the home of some of the world’s finest bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon, one producer is quietly bucking the trend.
—
Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 16 Feb. 2026
The price of rent in the city and surrounding county is dropping, bucking regional and statewide trends.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
The Reader’s nonprofit board and foundational partners sought help from Noisy Creek, an upstart publisher bucking the trends and betting on the future of alt-weeklies.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
With olive green and purple designs, Maison Lejaby was bucking the sobriety trend.
—Alex Wynne, Footwear News, 30 Jan. 2026
Blue-chip megafunds continue to attract capital, bucking the trend.
—Hank Tucker, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Spain plans to grant 500,000 undocumented migrants legal status, bucking a trend among many Western nations that are cracking down on immigration.
—semafor.com, 28 Jan. 2026
King repeatedly voted to reopen the government during the last shutdown, bucking his caucus.
—Garrett Downs,emily Wilkins, CNBC, 28 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
Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 16 Feb. 2026
The price of rent in the city and surrounding county is dropping, bucking regional and statewide trends.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
The Reader’s nonprofit board and foundational partners sought help from Noisy Creek, an upstart publisher bucking the trends and betting on the future of alt-weeklies.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
With olive green and purple designs, Maison Lejaby was bucking the sobriety trend.
—Alex Wynne, Footwear News, 30 Jan. 2026
Blue-chip megafunds continue to attract capital, bucking the trend.
—Hank Tucker, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Spain plans to grant 500,000 undocumented migrants legal status, bucking a trend among many Western nations that are cracking down on immigration.
—semafor.com, 28 Jan. 2026
King repeatedly voted to reopen the government during the last shutdown, bucking his caucus.
—Garrett Downs,emily Wilkins, CNBC, 28 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bucking
Verb
-
Hotel video footage showed the pair forcing entry into the hotel by yanking on a lobby door and breaking the lock.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The yellow bucket of a heavy construction excavator crashed down onto the roof of the vacant home at Parade Park, yanking it into a heap of split plaster and lumber.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The man was arrested and was being held in county jail in lieu of $100,000 bail on suspicion of robbery and resisting an officer, according to online jail records.—
Karen Kucher,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The opposite happens, and the metal strengthens, resisting the deformation.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Almost fifty years ahead of the battles of World War II, the Marquis de Morès had faced death in order to avoid handing Africa over to the British and the Jews.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
-
In one clip, Brian prepares his father and son to set out on their college road trip, handing his dad a backpack with his son’s asthma and allergy medications inside.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The room sighs in relief a second later when Buckley reanimates, jerking and flailing like a soul possessed, grinning maniacally — all on purpose, inspired by the earlier veil snafu.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Feb. 2026
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Some signs that the carburetor is clogged on a snow blower are starting then dying a few seconds afterward, jerking, sputtering noises, and black smoke emitting from the exhaust.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
That’s the offer WBD is officially opposing.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
-
My co-counsel did a phenomenal job and very much appreciated having that opposing argument.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Freeman’s contract is already more than halfway complete, with time passing quickly and his production on the field largely remaining the same.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
-
The motorist and a passing Minnesota Department of Transportation snowplow operator both called 911.—
Forum News Service,
Twin Cities,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The film is incredibly, even magnificently, stylish, but beyond its initial presentation, there just isn’t very much guiding the story in any novel or exciting ways — beyond, perhaps, thematic echoes of how the less prim-and-proper tech bros of today might be pulling a fast one too.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
15 Feb. 2026
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Heimuli rebounded from the loss to Kouokam to beat Jessica Pyatt of El Paso Pebble Hills in a consolation semifinal, pulling Pyatt down with 15 seconds left in the second period and getting a pint five seconds later.—
Rick Kretzschmar,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Sure enough, a big rock upended from beneath my toe and sent me lurching headlong to the water.—
Bryan Hendricks,
Arkansas Online,
15 Feb. 2026
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Bucking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bucking. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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