pail

noun

ˈpāl 

1

: a usually cylindrical container with a handle : bucket

a milk pail

2

: the quantity that a pail contains

a pail of water

pailful

ˈpāl-ˌfu̇l 

noun

Synonyms of pail

• bucket

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

Disney began selling simple souvenir popcorn pails in the 1990s and in 2010 introduced a 3D container modeled after Micky Mouse. —Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026

In junior, he was viewed as an honest, hardworking, lunch-pail player who was effective at getting to the right spots and staying around the puck. —Scott Wheeler, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026

Barrels were rolled out to the airplane and gas transferred to our tanks in open pails. —Delbert L. Chears, Outdoor Life, 5 Mar. 2026

Oneida spokeswoman Bobbi Webster recalled growing up that tribal members would spend long hours working on non-tribal land within the reservation borders picking apples for 50 cents a pail. —Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 6 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English payle, paille

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing pail

• slop pail

Rhymes for pail

• ail
• ale
• bail
• baile
• dail
• fail
• flail
• frail
• gael
• gail
• grail
• hail

Kids Definition

pail

noun

ˈpā(ə)l 

1

: a round container that is open at the top and has a handle : bucket

2

: the quantity held by a pail

fetch a pail of water