bucket list

noun

|Updated on: 3 Jul 2018

Definition of bucket list

: a list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying

Recent Examples of bucket list from the Web

Visiting the falls has been a bucket list item for many travelers over the years, thanks in part to their close proximity to Grand Canyon National Park to the east.

— jennifer nalewicki, Smithsonian, "North America’s Most Spectacular Waterfalls," 18 June 2018
Given out under specific psychological circumstances by an owner chasing an unchecked box on his bucket list.

— shawn windsor, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Tigers paying Miguel Cabrera because of Mike Ilitch's sentiment," 17 June 2018
Those living in the Northeast might be inspired to start a nine-holer bucket list: Nine of the 25 courses in the book are in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts (including No. 1, Whitinsville Golf Club).

— john paul newport, WSJ, "Summer Books: Golf," 23 May 2018
For anyone with a Houston food bucket list, the restaurants listed here are worthy of an addition.

— dana burke, Houston Chronicle, "Destination food in Houston's suburbs," 21 May 2018
From a bucket list stop for tourists passing through to a serious research institution making groundbreaking discoveries, Lowell is helping others to discover new worlds.

— jessica levy, azcentral, "Lowell Observatory continues to foster employees as it grows," 14 May 2018
Either way, this complex structure certainly belongs on every architecture lover's bucket list.

— Condé Nast Traveler, "The World's Most Beautiful Libraries," 22 Mar. 2018
Peaks Island Peaks Island is one of the more than 200 islands in Casco Bay, and the simple act of getting there will check another item off any good Portland bucket list; that is, taking a boat ride.

— sarah firshein, Town & Country, "The Ultimate Travel Guide to Portland, Maine," 13 Apr. 2017
With no intention of ever playing golf, people pile out of their cars and take a walk that may have been on their bucket list for years.

— tod leonard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Decade later, U.S. Open memories draw many fans to Torrey Pines," 12 June 2018

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