1
: a usually cylindrical container with a handle : bucket
a milk pail
2
: the quantity that a pail contains
a pail of water
Examples of pail in a Sentence
A plastic beach pail was lying on the sand.
She poured a pail of water on the campfire.
Recent Examples on the Web
As the Hornets’ future at center, he’ll be tasked with doing plenty of the dirty work and other inevitable duties like setting screens, and seemed to have no problem with the lunch pail mentality.
—
Roderick Boone
updated July 11, Charlotte Observer, 12 July 2025
Eventually, pails and shovels were replaced by footballs and Frisbees, but the beach bag was still the repository for books, one for each of us.
—Maggie Mulqueen, Chicago Tribune, 4 July 2025
The limited medical supplies included a potbellied stove, a pail of water for sterilization, sheets torn into strips to be boiled in the pail, anti-tetanus serum and bandages.
—Amy Sohn, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 June 2025
In Delhi, some of the millions of devotees could be seen, holy water balanced in pails, or containers hanging from each end of the kanwar pole that gives the festival its name.
—Aishwarya S. Iyer, CNN Money, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pail
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Roderick Boone
updated July 11, Charlotte Observer, 12 July 2025
Eventually, pails and shovels were replaced by footballs and Frisbees, but the beach bag was still the repository for books, one for each of us.
—Maggie Mulqueen, Chicago Tribune, 4 July 2025
The limited medical supplies included a potbellied stove, a pail of water for sterilization, sheets torn into strips to be boiled in the pail, anti-tetanus serum and bandages.
—Amy Sohn, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 June 2025
In Delhi, some of the millions of devotees could be seen, holy water balanced in pails, or containers hanging from each end of the kanwar pole that gives the festival its name.
—Aishwarya S. Iyer, CNN Money, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pail
Cite this Entry
“Pail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pail. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share