1
: a typically cylindrical vessel for catching, holding, or carrying liquids or solids
2
: something resembling a bucket: such as
a
: the scoop of an excavating machine
b
: one of the receptacles on the rim of a waterwheel
c
: one of the cups of an endless-belt conveyor
d
: one of the vanes of a turbine rotor
3
4
5
bucketed; bucketing; buckets
1
: to draw or lift in buckets
2
British
a
: to ride (a horse) hard
b
: to drive hurriedly or roughly
3
: to deal with in a bucket shop
2
a
: to move about haphazardly or irresponsibly
b
: to move roughly or jerkily
3
chiefly British, informal
: to rain very heavily : pour
It doesn't just rain here. It pours; it lashes; it buckets.—
Kathleen A. Quinn
—usually used with downKathleen A. QuinnRain bucketed down for the next two days …—Thurston Clarke
Thurston ClarkeSynonyms
Noun
- abundance
- barrel
- basketful
- boatload
- bunch
- bundle
- bushel
- carload
- chunk
- deal
- dozen
- fistful
- gobs
- good deal
- heap
- hundred
- lashings [chiefly British]
- lashins
- loads
- lot
- mass
- mess
- mountain
- much
- multiplicity
- myriad
- oodles
- pack
- passel
- peck
- pile
- plateful
- plenitude
- plentitude
- plenty
- pot
- potful
- profusion
- quantity
- raft
- reams
- scads
- sheaf
- shipload
- sight
- slew
- spate
- stack
- store
- ton
- truckload
- volume
- wad
- wealth
- yard
Verb
Examples of bucket in a Sentence
Noun
We used two buckets of paint to paint the living room.
made buckets of money in the stock market
Verb
bucketing water from the well, we raced to put out the fire
getting the troops into the bucketing landing craft proved to be challenging
Recent Examples on the WebTyler Kingkade, NBC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Their cast-iron bucket, now made in Wisconsin and Indiana, was the American Foundry Society’s 2022 Casting of the Year.
—Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024
Over the second half, AD racked up as many fouls (three) as buckets (three).
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2024
Indy’s litter-fighting collective Initiation to the Gripper Gang involves a 5-gallon bucket, a grip extender and maybe some decent walking shoes.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Apr. 2024
One of my favorite details is the storage bucket, which has a shape sorter lid that helps kids identify and sort shapes—all while making even cleanup engaging.
—Quincy Bulin, Parents, 16 Apr. 2024
The final bucket includes a few thousand borrowers participating in Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which relieves the loans for people working in government jobs or positions that give back to the community.
—Alia Wong, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
The video showed Isabella preparing for one of her chemotherapy drugs to be administered, sitting in her hospital room with her hands and feet submerged in buckets of ice.
—Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
That’s a drop in the bucket of Americans using GLP-1s for weight loss.
—Callie Holtermann, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Alon Jackson, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
So he's got to figure out how to bucket Trump, bracket Trump, and pull people off of Trump.
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 5 Nov. 2023
When Holly’s seemingly psychic abilities save her from a fatal disaster at school, her status in the community shifts from outcast to otherworldly icon — as if Carrie White had actually been crowned prom queen, and not bucketed with blood.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 7 Sep. 2023
Top handles are too formal, totes too casual, and buckets too trendy.
—Charlotte Davey, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Aug. 2023
The Fever seemingly had control of the game throughout the first 10 minutes of the game, scoring at will and bucketing 26 points.
—Indystar Sports, The Indianapolis Star, 19 July 2023
Products are bucketed into 107 categories — from clothing to footwear to household linens — and further segmented by weight.
—Olivia Rockeman, Fortune, 30 May 2023
But that gorgeous swamp was bucketed out around the time of Sleep Well Beast.
—James Robins, Vulture, 1 May 2023
The only reason the Nittany Lions are still on the bubble is that Cam Wynter nailed two late-game miracle buckets to win back-to-back games.
—Tanner McGrath, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2023
Noun
The 15-year-old who spoke to NBC News said he was held down on a ramp and had buckets of water dumped on his face.
—Tyler Kingkade, NBC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Their cast-iron bucket, now made in Wisconsin and Indiana, was the American Foundry Society’s 2022 Casting of the Year.
—Journal Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2024
Over the second half, AD racked up as many fouls (three) as buckets (three).
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2024
Indy’s litter-fighting collective Initiation to the Gripper Gang involves a 5-gallon bucket, a grip extender and maybe some decent walking shoes.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Apr. 2024
One of my favorite details is the storage bucket, which has a shape sorter lid that helps kids identify and sort shapes—all while making even cleanup engaging.
—Quincy Bulin, Parents, 16 Apr. 2024
The final bucket includes a few thousand borrowers participating in Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which relieves the loans for people working in government jobs or positions that give back to the community.
—Alia Wong, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
The video showed Isabella preparing for one of her chemotherapy drugs to be administered, sitting in her hospital room with her hands and feet submerged in buckets of ice.
—Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
That’s a drop in the bucket of Americans using GLP-1s for weight loss.
—Callie Holtermann, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Verb
External Secrets Secrets are typically bucketed into two categories: external and internal.
—Alon Jackson, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
So he's got to figure out how to bucket Trump, bracket Trump, and pull people off of Trump.
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 5 Nov. 2023
When Holly’s seemingly psychic abilities save her from a fatal disaster at school, her status in the community shifts from outcast to otherworldly icon — as if Carrie White had actually been crowned prom queen, and not bucketed with blood.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 7 Sep. 2023
Top handles are too formal, totes too casual, and buckets too trendy.
—Charlotte Davey, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Aug. 2023
The Fever seemingly had control of the game throughout the first 10 minutes of the game, scoring at will and bucketing 26 points.
—Indystar Sports, The Indianapolis Star, 19 July 2023
Products are bucketed into 107 categories — from clothing to footwear to household linens — and further segmented by weight.
—Olivia Rockeman, Fortune, 30 May 2023
But that gorgeous swamp was bucketed out around the time of Sleep Well Beast.
—James Robins, Vulture, 1 May 2023
The only reason the Nittany Lions are still on the bubble is that Cam Wynter nailed two late-game miracle buckets to win back-to-back games.
—Tanner McGrath, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bucket.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bucket
Cite this Entry
“Bucket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bucket. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share