rust bucket

noun

: an old and dilapidated ship

Examples of rust bucket in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Straub & Youngman kept a 1941 Dodge pickup in that parking spot, and over the years, the pickup turned into a rust bucket. WSJ, 26 Nov. 2022 Instead, when the rust bucket is left there unattended and seemingly abandoned, for weeks and months on end, your patience is likely to run extremely thin. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2021 But nobody was interested in a forty-year-old, uninsurable rust bucket anchored in the world’s hottest conflict zone. The New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2021 But a friend attempted to discourage him by saying that particular model was notorious as a rust bucket. Vern Parker, Houston Chronicle, 23 Aug. 2019 Imagine trying to sell that rust bucket to recruits. Joseph Goodman, AL.com, 29 Mar. 2018 James is now like the captain of an old rust bucket, which is taking on water and listing because the best remaining member of the crew, Kevin Love, broke his hand in the Detroit debacle Tuesday night. Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, 31 Jan. 2018 Even by North Korean standards, the Jie Shun was a veritable rust bucket. Author: Joby Warrick, Alaska Dispatch News, 2 Oct. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rust bucket.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rust bucket was in 1944

Dictionary Entries Near rust bucket

Cite this Entry

“Rust bucket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rust%20bucket. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

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