buckeye

UK: /ˈbʌkˌaɪ/ US: (buk′ī′)

Inflections of 'buckeye' (n): npl: buckeyes

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

buck•eye  (buk′ī′), n., pl. -eyes. 

1. Plant Biology any of various trees or shrubs of the genus Aesculus, as A. glabra (Ohio buckeye,) having palmate leaves, gray, scaly bark, and bell-shaped greenish-yellow flowers in upright clusters: the state tree of Ohio.
2. Plant Biology the brown nut of any of these trees.
3. (cap.) a native or inhabitant of Ohio (used as a nickname).
4. a butterfly, Precis lavinia, having dark-brown wings with purple or red eyespots.

• buck¹ stag + eye, origin, originally used to designate def. 1, in allusion to the look of the seed 1755–65, American.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

buckeye / ˈbʌkˌaɪ/ noun

1. any of several North American trees of the genus Aesculus, esp A. glabra (Ohio buckeye), having erect clusters of white or red flowers and prickly fruits: family Hippocastanaceae
   Also called: bugeye
   See also horse chestnut