Meanings
- idiomaticA statement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities.
1994 January 25, William J. Clinton, State of the Union Address, 2004 Gutenberg eBook, If you will stick with this plan, we will post three consecutive years of declining deficits for the first time since Harry Truman lived in the White House. And once again, the buck stops here.
1 more example
Well, nobody else can make a decision but me because I was the President and the final decision comes to the President, you know. I used to have a sign on my desk that said, "The Buck Stops Here." The buck stops at the president's desk when he's president of the United States, and he either makes the decisions or he lets them go by default, and you can't afford to do that when you're president.
1965, Harry S. Truman, 0:20 from the start, in MP2002-401 Former President Truman Discusses "The Buck Stops Here", Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Popularized by US President Harry Truman. The phrase is based on the metaphorical expression passing the buck, derived from poker gameplay, that came to mean "passing blame", or absolving oneself of responsibility or concern by denying authority or jurisdiction over a given matter.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French la responsabilité commence ici, c'est ici que ça s'arrête
- la responsabilité commence icistatement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities
- c'est ici que ça s'arrêtestatement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities
German die Verantwortung liegt hier bei mir und nirgendwo anders, die Verantwortung liegt hier bei uns und nirgendwo anders
- die Verantwortung liegt hier bei mir und nirgendwo andersstatement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities
- die Verantwortung liegt hier bei uns und nirgendwo andersstatement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities
Polish biorę to na siebie
- biorę to na siebiestatement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities
Russian фишка дальше не идёт
- фишка дальше не идёт (fiška dalʹše ne idjót)statement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities
Cite this entry
the buck stops here. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20buck%20stops%20here
“the buck stops here.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20buck%20stops%20here. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the buck stops here,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20buck%20stops%20here.
Source: the buck stops here on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.