bucket

noun

buck·et | \ ˈbə-kət

Definition of bucket

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

verb

bucketed; bucketing; buckets

Definition of bucket (Entry 2 of 2)

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

2a : 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 & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about bucket

Keep scrolling for more

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

The center’s experts rode to the scene at South Beach Park and took the hatchlings, which had been collected in a bucket. — David Fleshler, sun-sentinel.com, "Sea turtle nest illegally dug up in Boca Raton," 3 July 2019 Investigators later found syringes in the bucket, along with a fatigue-fighting agent known in racing parlance as a milkshake, according to hearing transcripts from the state’s Horse Racing Board. — Corina Knoll, New York Times, "Why So Many Horses Have Died at Santa Anita," 26 June 2019 But their impact might be a drop in the bucket, given the size and composition of the tech industry. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, "The Problem With Diversity in Computing," 25 June 2019 Fireworks can also be buried at half their height in the ground or with sand or dirt in a bucket. — Chris Sims, Indianapolis Star, "How to stay safe during your Fourth of July fireworks show," 25 June 2019 Hunt had double-bagged a 20-pound raccoon and placed him in a bucket in the trash bin. — Byron Mccauley, Cincinnati.com, "Meet Danny Jackson, the man who cleans up roadkill from Cincinnati streets," 20 June 2019 One time her sister used a pair of tongs to grab an invading snake and put it in a bucket before calling Brown. — James Mcwilliams, Outside Online, "The Town That Lives with Rattlesnakes," 10 June 2019 Cash in buckets seized from the Miami Lakes home of Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez. — David Ovalle, miamiherald, "Green thumb with pot earned him $22 million. What he did with the cash got him 5 years | Miami Herald," 25 Apr. 2018 On a recent Saturday, Cherizier ducked through purple and yellow sheets hung out to dry in narrow alleyways and sidestepped rusty wheelbarrows filled with sugarcane and women doing their wash in buckets. — Fox News, "Leader or killer? A day with 'Barbecue' in Haiti's capital," 7 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

But in a storm of Harvey's sheer monstrousness – hundreds of miles across, lingering for days with bucketing rain that swallowed roads and initially kept rescue aircraft grounded – no government response could ever have been enough. — Author: Kevin Sullivan, Peter Holley, Alaska Dispatch News, "Texans’ do-it-ourselves rescue effort defines Hurricane Harvey," 3 Sep. 2017 But in a storm of Harvey’s sheer monstrousness — hundreds of miles across, lingering for days with bucketing rain that swallowed roads and initially kept rescue aircraft grounded — no government response could ever have been enough. — Kevin Sullivan, Washington Post, "Texans’ do-it-ourselves rescue effort defines Hurricane Harvey," 2 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bucket.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.