break the buck en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Break (as in break the bank) + the + buck (“dollar (colloquial)”).
Meanings
-
(US, idiomatic, of a money-market fund) To fall below the value of one dollar per share.
"We were likely going to see more funds halt redemptions" and break the buck. The insurance program is part of a wider rescue package […]
2008 September 19, “Money-Market Funds Get $50 Billion Backstop From US (Update1)”, in Bloomberg:In 1994, during the Orange County bankruptcy, a few funds were poised to break the buck, until their parent companies stepped in.
2000, Charles A. Jaffe, Chuck Jaffe’s Lifetime Guide to Mutual Funds: An Owner’s Manual, Perseus Books Group, →ISBN, page 110, →ISBN:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| broke the buck | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| broken the buck | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| breaking the buck | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| breaks the buck | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |