buck private

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

buck private (plural buck privates)

1. (US, military slang) A private soldier keen ("bucking") for promotion; an ambitious private.
   • 2007, Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes, Penguin, published 2008, pages 15–16:

     Bedell Smith was a shopkeeper's son from Indiana who rose from buck private to general without the polish of West Point or a college degree.

Related terms

• buck general