Slang dictionary
buck naked
[ buhk ney-kid ]
What does buck naked mean?
Buck naked is a very informal phrase meaning completely naked.
Describing someone as buck naked means they have on no clothing at all. The phrase is often used humorously to emphasize the absurdity or unusualness of being naked in a certain situation.
Close synonyms are stark-naked (which is somewhat less informal) and butt naked (which is considered more vulgar). The phrase in the buff means the same thing, but buck and buff should not be confused.
Example: So there I was, buck naked, when I realized someone had taken my only towel.
Where does buck naked come from?
The phrase buck naked has been used since at least the early 1900s. It’s unclear why the word buck is used in the phrase. (While the word buck is sometimes used as an adjective meaning “completely” or “totally,” this sense likely derives from its use in buck naked.)
One common theory is that the word buck in buck naked is used to compare a person’s smooth, naked skin to that of a buck, meaning a male deer. Another theory is that the phrase was originally based on the racist usage of buck to refer to Black people or Native Americans, who when enslaved were often presented naked at auctions. Still, neither of these theories has been able to be confirmed, and these potential origins are not well-known—very few people who use the phrase buck naked are aware of them.
The origin of the more recent term butt naked is also uncertain. One common theory is that it is an eggcorn of buck naked (a mishearing resulting in a new phrase).
Examples of buck naked
Who uses buck naked?
Buck naked is typically used in a way intended to be humorous, especially in stories in which a person is naked in an unusual or absurd situation.
To the guy standing in my gym locker room buck naked chugging a Mountain Dew… you win.
— Sean Lowe (@SeanLowe09) August 16, 2017
Could you sue if you were buck naked in your own back yard when apple maps took an aerial 3D picture ? I'm asking for a friend…
— paget brewster (@pagetpaget) June 27, 2015
I want to go to dinner parties with people who end stories with things like “next thing I knew, I was buck naked on top of a Buick.”
— Gennefer Gross (@Gennefer) September 8, 2021
My sister is sending me videos of my 2-yr old niece buck naked standing on a table singing Banner. All career goals accomplished!
— Lights (@lights) December 7, 2013
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of buck naked like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of buck naked that will help our users expand their word mastery.