bucket

1 of 2

noun

buck·​et ˈbə-kət 

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

: bucketful

4

: bucket seat

5

: basket sense 3b

bucket

2 of 2

verb

bucketed; bucketing; buckets

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

1

: hustle, hurry

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 down

Rain bucketed down for the next two days …

—Thurston Clarke

Synonyms

Noun

• loads
• ton
• chunk
• dozen
• pile
• plenty
• deal
• raft
• slew
• bunch
• quantity
• wealth
• stack
• lot
• bundle

Verb

• scoop
• spoon

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 Web

Noun

Keep a bucket of water, hose or a fire extinguisher on hand. —Kansas City Star, 5 July 2025

Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose nearby in case of a malfunction or fire. —Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 4 July 2025

Verb

Indy Thunder-struck by SGA; OKC back in Finals command: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander bucketed 35 points to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder into a 2-2 NBA Finals tie with the Indiana Pacers. —Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 15 June 2025

Similar to Orange Theory, the challenge relies on an app that buckets heart rates into five different intensity zones, with red awarded the most. —David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 11 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French buket, from Old English būc pitcher, belly; akin to Old High German būh belly

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1640, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing bucket

• bucket brigade
• bucket down
• bucket hat
• bucket list
• bucket loader
• bucket seat
• bucket shop
• drop in the bucket
• kick the bucket
• lunch-bucket
• rust bucket

Kids Definition

bucket

noun

buck·​et

ˈbək-ət

1

: a usually round container for catching, holding, or carrying liquids or solids : pail

2

: an object for collecting, scooping, or carrying something

3

: bucketful