tr.v., -buked, -buk·ing, -bukes.
- To criticize or reprove sharply; reprimand. See synonyms at admonish.
- To check or repress.
A sharp reproof.
[Middle English rebuken, from Old North French rebuker : re-, back (from Latin; see re-) + *buker, to strike, chop wood (variant of Old French buschier , from busche, firewood , of Germanic origin).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
