WordNet
n. an enlisted man of the lowest rank; "our prisoner was just a private and knew nothing of value" [syn: private, common soldier]
Usage examples of "buck private".
I checked his World War II Marine Corps record and was impressed: he survived fourteen hand-to-hand combat charges on Saipan, won the Navy Cross and rose from buck private to captain via field commission.
The two jogged the entire distance, presenting themselves to a buck private manning the gate.
The woman called Crystal had finished her third spot and was hauling a harmless guy backstage for a twenty-buck private show when Reacher saw two men emerge at the top of the stairs.
Emmet had started off as a buck private, ended up with a late-war battlefield commission to the rank he still held, lieutenant.
Finally she cut the gum out with scissors, leaving a bald spot on the crown of his head that resembled a buck private's new haircut or a tonsure on a monk.
Yuulith's Rude Lands, now a buck private, left wondering why he'd declined to volunteer for OCS.