WordGarden.iobucket
A1Pronunciation
UK
- /bˈʌkɪt/
US
- /ˈbəkət/
Meanings
Noun
an open container with a handle used to carry liquids or other things
the amount held by a bucket, or a large amount of something
a category, range, or grouping unit used to sort items or data
More meaningsFewer meanings
a named storage container in a cloud or computer system
a successful shot or score in basketball
Verb
to rain very heavily
Beyond the definition
A bucket is an open container, often with a handle, used for carrying liquids or loose materials. You might picture hauling water from a well, carrying paint, or filling one with soapy water for cleaning. At the beach, a bucket can help gather sand for a castle. But the word is bigger than the tool itself.
In everyday language, it also appears in set phrases: a "bucket list" is a list of experiences you hope to accomplish in life, while "kick the bucket" is a colloquial way to say someone has died. People may also say it is "raining buckets" to mean very heavy rain, or "a bucket of laughs" to describe something very funny.
The word "bucket" usually means an open container with a handle used to hold and transport liquids or loose items. Classic materials are metal and wood, while modern buckets are also commonly made of plastic. In use, someone might carry paint home in one, carry a bucket of apples, or pass one to a firefighter during an emergency.
The noun is also productive in figurative and idiomatic expressions. The phrase "bucket list" refers to goals or experiences you want to complete in your lifetime. "Kick the bucket" is a blunt idiom meaning to die. People also describe very heavy rain as "raining buckets." In older usage, a "bucket shop" means a questionable pawn- or investment operation, and in modern digital contexts a "bucket" may be a logical storage grouping (such as a data bucket in cloud systems).
So the word spans practical, idiomatic, and specialized uses—always tied to a core idea of collecting, holding, or grouping things, whether those things are water, data, or life goals.
Examples
- 1
Cleaning
She filled a bucket with warm water and soap.
- 2
Leak control
The roof was leaking, so we put a bucket under it.
- 3
Beach play
The kids ran to the sea with their buckets and spades.
- 4
Food order
We bought a bucket of fried chicken for dinner.
- Patterna bucket of + food/object
a container full of it
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Heavy rain
It was raining buckets by the time we got home.
- Usagerain buckets
rain very heavily; informal
- 6
Strong emotion
She cried buckets after watching the film.
- Usagecry buckets
cry a lot; informal
- 7
Life goals
Visiting Japan is near the top of my bucket list.
- Phrasebucket list
things you want to do in your life
- 8
Humorous death
In the joke, the old pirate finally kicked the bucket.
- Usagekick the bucket
die; informal, often humorous
See also
Forms and spellings
4 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- bucketnounverb
Forms
- bucketspluralnounverb
- bucketing-ing formverbnoun
- bucketedpast tenseverbnoun