bucketing

verb

present participle of bucket
1
as in scooping
to lift out with something that holds liquid bucketing water from the well, we raced to put out the fire

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shaking
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements getting the troops into the bucketing landing craft proved to be challenging

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bucketing Similarly revealing is our chances created grid, bucketing the start locations of every pass that has led directly to a goalscoring opportunity for a team-mate. — Thom Harris, New York Times, 10 June 2026 Six months later, the internship — some of which bore all the glamour of scrubbing bird poop and bucketing hundreds of pounds of fish as dolphin food — developed into a full-time gig as a trainer. — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bucketing
  1. scooping
  2. shaking
  3. emptying
  4. jerking
  5. spooning
  6. vibrating
  7. shuddering
  8. quivering
Verb
  • Next, DeVito made a bad decision over the middle on a prolonged play that ended with a scooping grab by backup safety John Saunders Jr.
    — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The East Palo Alto Police Department posted a separate video from the rescue that shows the dog swimming furiously with seagulls circling overhead and firefighters scooping him out of the murky water and swaddling him in towels.
    — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026
Definition of scooping
Verb
  • His hands were not shaking, and the cup was returned to his father un-rinsed and brimming with water.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • That dynamic is shaking the electric power industry to its core.
    — Laurent Belsie, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of shaking
Verb
  • The pace would put Lineage on track to finish emptying its freezers within two weeks.
    — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Never emptying the filter is another big no-no, and not draining the filter is also a mistake.
    — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of emptying
Verb
  • Stuttering lines, on the left, jerking up and down, denote the rattle of guns; on the right, the lines are all but flat, as silence descends.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Logan Howlett, got a tear-jerking send-off in James Mangold’s Logan.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026
Definition of jerking
Verb
  • Carefully turn and cook, spooning butter over, until second side is golden brown and fish is cooked through, about 3 minutes.
    — Alexia Duchêne, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 July 2026
  • The fun part of this recipe is poking holes in the cake and then spooning in the blueberry and strawberry fillings alternately to create the red, white, and blue effect.
    — Brennan Long, Southern Living, 3 July 2026
Definition of spooning
Verb
  • The mouth fiddle belongs to a family of instruments that are orally modulated, lending qualities of the human voice to the sound waves emitted by a vibrating string.
    — Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • The wallpaper in many of the rooms was removed due to the possibility of vibrating machinery damaging the delicate paper.
    — Ben Jureidini, Vanity Fair, 21 July 2026
Definition of vibrating
Verb
  • These seemingly innocuous incidents attain new significance as they’re revisited alongside a slow crescendo that suddenly turns to shuddering piano chords on the track’s bridge.
    — Nick Ayres DeMasi, Pitchfork, 1 July 2026
  • Choose Baits with Vibration Lipless crankbaits earn their keep each spring, as their shuddering motion creates the bait-mimicking tremors to which bass respond.
    — David A. Brown, Outdoor Life, 1 July 2026
Definition of shuddering
Verb
  • But each of its eight-and-a-half minutes introduces a subtle mutation, rotating buzzing electronics and quivering guitars into the spotlight.
    — Arman Khan, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Located on the street level of the Harbor Boulevard complex, the new shop gives dessert-loving denizens another place to pick up the quivering treat.
    — Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 26 May 2026
Definition of quivering

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Cite this Entry

“Bucketing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bucketing. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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