# Bucks

/ˈbəks/ (US) · /bˈʌks/ (UK) · CEFR A2 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/bucks
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Definition

an informal word for dollars or other types of money like pounds. You use it when talking about prices with friends or family.

For teachers: a colloquial term for a unit of currency, most commonly the United States dollar. Informal in register; typically restricted to spoken or casual written contexts.

## Examples

- The coffee only costs five bucks.
- I managed to save fifty bucks this week by making my own lunch instead of eating out.
- While the initial investment was only a few hundred bucks, the long-term maintenance costs proved to be significantly higher than the owner had anticipated.

## Pitfalls

- Not "The shirt is ten buck." but "The shirt is ten bucks." — Even in informal speech, the word must take the plural 's' when referring to more than one unit of currency.

## Usage notes

- Almost always used in the plural form when referring to a specific amount of money.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.