a deep, cylindrical vessel, usually of metal, plastic, or wood, with a flat bottom and a semicircular bail, for collecting, carrying, or holding water, sand, fruit, etc.; pail.
anything resembling or suggesting this.
Machinery.
any of the scoops attached to or forming the endless chain in certain types of conveyors or elevators.
the scoop or clamshell of a steam shovel, power shovel, or dredge.
a vane or blade of a waterwheel, paddle wheel, water turbine, or the like.
(in a dam) a concave surface at the foot of a spillway for deflecting the downward flow of water.
a bucketful: a bucket of sand.
Basketball.
Informal.field goal.
the part of the keyhole extending from the foul line to the end line.
bucket seat.
Bowling. a leave of the two, four, five, and eight pins, or the three, five, six, and nine pins.
verb (used with object),buck·et·ed,buck·et·ing.
to lift, carry, or handle in a bucket (often followed by up or out).
Chiefly British. to ride (a horse) fast and without concern for tiring it.
to handle (orders, transactions, etc.) in or as if in a bucket shop.
verb (used without object),buck·et·ed,buck·et·ing.
Informal. to move or drive fast; hurry.
Idioms for bucket
drop in the bucket, a small, usually inadequate amount in relation to what is needed or requested: The grant for research was just a drop in the bucket.
drop the bucket on, AustralianSlang. to implicate, incriminate, or expose.
kick the bucket, Slang. to die: His children were greedily waiting for him to kick the bucket.
Origin of bucket
1250–1300; Middle English buket<Anglo-French <Old English bucc (variant of būc vessel, belly; cognate with German Bauch) + Old French -et-et
regional variation note for bucket
Though both bucket and pail are used throughout the entire U.S., pail has its greatest use in the Northern U.S., and bucket is more commonly used elsewhere, especially in the Midland and Southern U.S.
While McInnes’ chopper carries its water in a bucket, that’s not the only way to do it.
How aerial firefighters battle blazes from the skies|Rob Verger|August 27, 2020|Popular Science
Kobe and Shaq butted heads, did their own things, got buckets and won three rings.
LeBron And AD Dominate Like Kobe And Shaq. But Can They Win Like The Classic Lakers?|Robert O'Connell|August 24, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
These are in the low-touch, high-growth bucket which is a good thing for us.
‘It’s less dire than it seemed to be’: How The Wall Street Journal’s digital ads business has weathered the downturn|Lucinda Southern|August 20, 2020|Digiday
A centrifuge simulates gravity through centrifugal force — the effect that keeps water in the bottom of a bucket when you swing it over your head.
What will astronauts need to survive the dangerous journey to Mars?|Maria Temming|July 15, 2020|Science News
Another problem in this third bucket — it’s a big bucket — is when the person who designed the intervention and masterminded the initial trial can no longer be so involved once the program scales up to multiple locations.
Policymaking Is Not a Science (Yet) (Ep. 405)|Stephen J. Dubner|February 13, 2020|Freakonomics
An 18-year-old Swedish rapper/Internet meme has inspired legions of impressionable teens to get based in bucket hats.
The Cult of Yung Lean: ‘I’m Building An Anarchistic Society From the Ground Up’|Marlow Stern|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Early one morning I was passing out hot water, when a man showed me a bucket of blood from his slashed wrists and asked for help.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison|Daniel Genis|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her solution: a bucket list of influential people and places to visit and photograph.
Annie Leibovitz Talks About ‘Pilgrimage,’ Susan Sontag, Vogue & More|Justin Jones|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was on a hike to the Grand Canyon at age 18 that Shattuck penned her first bucket list.
From Baltimore Ravens Cheerleader to Mrs. Robinson|Brandy Zadrozny|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On the verge of turning 60 this December, Lennox still has a few items to cross off her bucket list.
Annie Lennox Doesn’t Give a Damn What You Think|Itay Hod|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was a bucket of water, full of cool green lights, standing by the well.
The Serf|Guy Thorne
How fortunate that he had left this wide open when starting after that bucket of water!
Rocky Mountain Boys|St. George Rathborne
Their own bucket, improvised out of a dish-cover and a rope, lay close to the brink.
The Wings of the Morning|Louis Tracy
He dipped the bucket, and Rob had his wash; by that time Brazier had joined him.
Rob Harlow's Adventures|George Manville Fenn
A brace is made of tin bent in the shape shown and riveted to the bottom of the bucket.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2|Various
British Dictionary definitions for bucket
bucket
/ (ˈbʌkɪt) /
noun
an open-topped roughly cylindrical container; pail
Also called: bucketfulthe amount a bucket will hold
any of various bucket-like parts of a machine, such as the scoop on a mechanical shovel
a cupped blade or bucket-like compartment on the outer circumference of a water wheel, paddle wheel, etc
computinga unit of storage on a direct-access device from which data can be retrieved
mainlyUSa turbine rotor blade
Australian and NZan ice cream container
kick the bucketslangto die
verb-kets, -ketingor-keted
(tr)to carry in or put into a bucket
(intr often foll by down) (of rain) to fall very heavilyit bucketed all day
(intr often foll by along) mainlyBritishto travel or drive fast
(tr)mainlyBritishto ride (a horse) hard without consideration
(tr)Australianslangto criticize severely
Word Origin for bucket
C13: from Anglo-French buket, from Old English būc; compare Old High German būh belly, German Bauch belly