bucket

bucket — noun

1. a deep round holder with a curved grip at the top, often used for water, sand, p

1.nounB1
Definition

a deep round holder with a curved grip at the top, often used for water, sand, paint, and similar things

Example

Mei carried a bucket of water across the yard for the goats.

a bucket of + liquid

After the storm, Ravi caught drips from the ceiling in a red bucket.

Common collocations
  • bucket of water
  • plastic bucket
  • metal bucket
  • mop and bucket
  • bucket and spade
Synonyms
  • pail

    very close in meaning, though sometimes more North American or slightly old-fashioned

  • tub

    usually wider and less associated with a handle

  • container

    much broader and not specific about shape

Grammar Patterns

a bucket of + liquid

fill a bucket with something

carry a bucket

Usage Note

Often used for water, sand, paint, or cleaning. Distinguish from sense 3, where bucket names the amount inside rather than the object itself.

Common Mistakes

She poured water to the bucket.
She poured water into the bucket.
use into when the liquid moves inside the container.

2. the large scooping or lifting part on a crane, digger, or similar machine

2.noun
Definition

the large scooping or lifting part on a crane, digger, or similar machine

Example

The digger's bucket lifted broken bricks into the waiting truck.

digger's bucket

From the street, we watched the crane bucket swing over the wall.

crane bucket

Common collocations
  • digger bucket
  • crane bucket
  • lower the bucket
  • bucket arm
Synonyms
  • scoop

    describes the shape or action, but is less exact for heavy machines

  • shovel

    can describe a similar digging part, but often suggests a hand tool

  • grab

    used for gripping attachments rather than open scooping ones

Grammar Patterns

digger bucket

crane bucket

lower / lift the bucket

Usage Note

Usually follows the machine name, as in digger bucket or crane bucket. It refers to the lifting attachment, not to the everyday container in sense 1.

Common Mistakes

The digger lifted the stones with its shovel.
The digger lifted the stones with its bucket.
for this machine part, bucket names the scooping attachment.

3. the amount that fills one bucket, or a large quantity measured that way

3.noun
Definition

the amount that fills one bucket, or a large quantity measured that way

Example

By noon, the farm had used three buckets of water on the peppers.

three buckets of + noun

One bucket of paint was enough for the kitchen walls.

one bucket of + material

Common collocations
  • a bucket of water
  • a bucket of paint
  • a bucket of oats
  • by the bucketful
Synonyms
  • bucketful

    more exact for one full bucket

  • load

    broader and often suggests a larger or less exact amount

  • amount

    general word with no container idea

Grammar Patterns

a bucket of something

two buckets of something

by the bucketful

Usage Note

Common with numbers and with of, especially in counting food, water, paint, or other supplies. Sense 1 is about the container itself.

Common Mistakes

We bought a bucket apples.
We bought a bucket of apples.
this quantity sense usually needs bucket of + noun.
Idioms

a drop in the bucket

idiom

something so small that it hardly changes the whole situation

Even ten more beds were a drop in the bucket after the storm.

For a city this size, one new bus line is a drop in the bucket.

kick the bucket

idiom

to die, used in a joking or not very serious way

Uncle Ray says he wants to travel before he kicks the bucket.

The old pirate in the film kicked the bucket with a song.

Word family

  • bucketful
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For sense 1, bucket is the normal everyday word for an open container with a handle, especially for water, sand, paint, or cleaning. Pail is very close in meaning, but in many contexts it sounds more North American or slightly old-fashioned. Tub usually suggests a wider, lower container and is common for washing, soaking, or storage. Bin is a much broader word for a container, especially one for rubbish or loose items, so it does not suggest a handle. A child on the beach usually carries a bucket. A large plastic holder for clothes is more likely a tub or bin.

pailtub ↗bin ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishAnglo-Norman FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word came into English in the Middle English period. It was probably taken from Anglo-Norman French buquet, meaning a tub or pail, and may also be linked to Old English buc, a word used for a belly or a pitcher.