Bucket — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb /ˈbə-kət/ buck·et

Meaning & Definition of Bucket

Bucket (noun)

  1. a typically cylindrical vessel for catching, holding, or carrying liquids or solids
  2. something resembling a bucket
  3. the scoop of an excavating machine

Bucket (verb)

  1. to draw or lift in buckets
  2. to ride (a horse) hard
  3. to drive hurriedly or roughly

Bucket (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a considerable amount

    "made buckets of money in the stock market"

    similar: abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, deal, dozen, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, lashings (chiefly British), loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, multiplicity, myriad, oodles, pack, passel, peck, pile, plateful, plenitude, plentitude, plenty, pot, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, sheaf, shipload, sight, slew, spate, stack, store, ton, truckload, volume, wad, wealth, yard, all kinds (of), quite a bit
    related: epidemic, plague, rash, bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, deluge, flood, overflow, army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mob, multitude, press, score, sea, swarm, throng, gazillion, jillion, kazillion, million, thousands, trillion, zillion
    opposite: ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen, speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste, touch, trace
    near: atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit, smatter, smattering, dash, drop, morsel, shot, piece, portion, section, absence, dearth, famine, lack, paucity, poverty, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want, deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency, meagerness, scantiness, scantness, skimpiness

  2. a round container that is open at the top and outfitted with a handle

    "carried water from the well in a bucket"

    similar: pail
    related: cauldron, kettle, pot, canteen, flagon, jar, jug, pitcher, bail, hod, tank, tub, vat, holder, receptacle, vessel

Bucket (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to lift out with something that holds liquid

    "bucketing water from the well, we raced to put out the fire"

    similar: dip, lade, ladle, scoop, spoon
    related: bail, deplete, drain, eliminate, empty, exhaust, bleed, draw (off), dish, slop, decant, draw, pump, siphon, suction
    near: pour, fill

  2. to make a series of small irregular or violent movements

    "getting the troops into the bucketing landing craft proved to be challenging"

    similar: agitate, convulse, jerk, jiggle, joggle, jolt, jounce, judder (chiefly British), quake, quiver, shake, shudder, vibrate, wobble
    related: rock, sway, swing, chatter, quaver, shiver, thrill, tremble, twitch, dodder, waver, flicker, fluctuate, flutter, oscillate, undulate, wave, beat, palpitate, pit-a-pat, pitter-patter, pulsate, pulse, throb

Related Entry: Drop in the bucket (phrase)

Drop in the bucket is a different word from Bucket. The synonyms below are for drop in the bucket, not for bucket.

  1. a very small amount

    "Your copay may seem expensive, but it's a drop in the bucket compared with the total cost of the procedure."

    similar: ace, bit, crumb, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, hint, lick, little, mite, nip, ounce, particle, peanuts, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smack, smell, smidgen, snap, soupçon, spark, spatter, speck, splash, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, touch, trace
    related: hoot, iota, jot, minim, minimum, modicum, semblance, syllable, tittle, vestige, whit, atom, dot, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, patch, scrap, dash, drop, pinch, part, portion, section, bite, nibble, taste, handful, scattering, smatter, smattering, dose, shot, chip, flake, fragment, shard, shiver, sliver, smithereens, splinter, shred, tatter, clipping, paring, shaving
    near: abundance, barrel, boatload, bucket, bundle, bushel, deal, fistful, gobs, heaps, lashings (chiefly British), loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, oodles, passel, peck, pile, plenty, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, wad, wealth, volume, bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, chunk, hunk, lump, slab

Related Entry: Kick the bucket (phrase)

Kick the bucket is a different word from Bucket. The synonyms below are for kick the bucket, not for bucket.

  1. to stop living

    "He had things he wanted to accomplish before he kicked the bucket."

    similar: check out, conk (out), croak (slang), decease, demise, depart, die, drop, end, exit, expire, fall, flatline, go, kick in (slang), kick off (slang), pass (on), pass away, part, peg out (chiefly British), perish, pop off, step out, succumb, bite the dust, buy it, give up the ghost, snuff it (British)
    related: predecease, consume, disappear, dry up, fade, fail
    opposite: breathe, live
    near: come to, revive, linger, be, exist, subsist, flourish, prosper, thrive

Related Entry: Kicked the bucket (phrase)

Kicked the bucket is a different word from Bucket. The synonyms below are for kicked the bucket, not for bucket.

  1. to stop living

    "He had things he wanted to accomplished before he kicked the bucket."

    similar: checked out, conked (out), croaked (slang), deceased, demised, departed, died, dropped, ended, exited, expired, fell, flatlined, kicked in (slang), kicked off (slang), parted, passed away, passed (on), pegged out (chiefly British), perished, popped off, stepped out, succumbed, went, bit the dust, bought it, gave up the ghost, snuffed it (British)
    related: predeceased, consumed, disappeared, dried up, faded, failed
    opposite: breathed, lived
    near: came to, revived, lingered, existed, subsisted, was, flourished, prospered, thrived

Related Entry: Drops in the bucket (phrase)

Drops in the bucket is a different word from Bucket. The synonyms below are for drops in the bucket, not for bucket.

  1. a very small amount

    "Your copay may seem expensive, but it's a drop in the bucket compared with the total cost of the procedure."

    similar: aces, bits, crumbs, dabs, drams, driblets, glimmers, hints, licks, little, mites, nips, ounces, particles, peanuts, rays, scintillas, scruples, shades, shadows, shreds, skoshes, smacks, smells, smidgens, snaps, soupçons, sparks, spatters, specks, splashes, spots, sprinklings, strains, streaks, suspicions, touches, traces
    related: hoots, iotas, jots, minima, minims, modicums, semblances, syllables, tittles, vestiges, whits, atoms, dots, flecks, flyspecks, grains, granules, molecules, morsels, motes, nubbins, patches, scraps, dashes, drops, pinches, parts, portions, sections, bites, nibbles, tastes, handfuls, scatterings, smatterings, smatters, doses, shots, chips, flakes, fragments, shards, shivers, slivers, smithereens, splinters, shreds, tatters, clippings, parings, shavings
    near: abundances, barrels, boatloads, buckets, bundles, bushels, deals, fistfuls, gobs, heaps, lashings (chiefly British), loads, lots, masses, messes, mountains, much, oodles, passels, pecks, piles, plenties, potfuls, profusions, quantities, rafts, reams, scads, stacks, wads, wealths, volumes, bonanzas, embarrassments, excesses, overabundances, overages, overflows, overkills, overmuch, oversupplies, superabundances, superfluities, surfeits, surpluses, chunks, hunks, lumps, slabs

Related Entry: Kicks the bucket (phrase)

Kicks the bucket is a different word from Bucket. The synonyms below are for kicks the bucket, not for bucket.

  1. to stop living

    "He had things he wanted to accomplished before he kicked the bucket."

    similar: checks out, conks (out), croaks (slang), deceases, demises, departs, dies, drops, ends, exits, expires, falls, flatlines, goes, kicks in (slang), kicks off (slang), parts, passes away, passes (on), pegs out (chiefly British), perishes, pops off, steps out, succumbs, bites the dust, buys it, gives up the ghost, snuffs it (British)
    related: predeceases, consumes, disappears, dries up, fades, fails
    opposite: breathes, lives
    near: comes to, revives, lingers, exists, is, subsists, flourishes, prospers, thrives

Related Entry: Kicking the bucket (phrase)

Kicking the bucket is a different word from Bucket. The synonyms below are for kicking the bucket, not for bucket.

  1. to stop living

    "He had things he wanted to accomplished before he kicked the bucket."

    similar: checking out, conking (out), croaking (slang), deceasing, demising, departing, dropping, dying, ending, exiting, expiring, falling, flatlining, going, kicking in (slang), kicking off (slang), parting, passing away, passing (on), pegging out (chiefly British), perishing, popping off, stepping out, succumbing, biting the dust, buying it, giving up the ghost, snuffing it (British)
    related: predeceasing, consuming, disappearing, drying up, fading, failing
    opposite: breathing, living
    near: coming to, reviving, lingering, being, existing, subsisting, flourishing, prospering, thriving

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Bucket

The most common words with a similar meaning to Bucket:

Chiefly British: lashings, judder
abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, deal, dozen, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, multiplicity, myriad, oodles, pack, passel, peck, pile, plateful, plenitude, plentitude, plenty, pot, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Bucket

Words with the opposite meaning of Bucket:

ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen, speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste

Related Words for Bucket

epidemic, plague, rash, bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, deluge, flood, overflow, army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host

Near Antonyms of Bucket

atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit, smatter, smattering, dash, drop, morsel, shot, piece, portion, section

Word Forms of Bucket

Inflections: bucketed, bucketing, buckets

Origin & Etymology of Bucket

Middle English, from Anglo-French buket, from Old English būc pitcher, belly; akin to Old High German būh belly

First known use: 13th century

Words & Phrases Containing Bucket

bucket brigade, bucket hat, bucket list, bucket loader, bucket seat, bucket shop, bucket down, drop in the bucket

Frequently Asked Questions about Bucket

What does "Bucket" mean?

"Bucket" means a typically cylindrical vessel for catching, holding, or carrying liquids or solids. As an a noun and a verb, it is defined as: a typically cylindrical vessel for catching, holding, or carrying liquids or solids. It has 4 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Bucket"?

Other words for "Bucket" include abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bunch, bundle, bushel and carload. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Bucket" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Bucket"?

There are 174 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Bucket". Common alternatives include abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk and deal.

What is the opposite of "Bucket"?

Antonyms of "Bucket" include ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful and hint. Near antonyms include atom, crumb, dot and fleck.

How do you use "Bucket" in a sentence?

Examples of "Bucket" in a sentence: "made buckets of money in the stock market"; "carried water from the well in a bucket"; "bucketing water from the well, we raced to put out the fire".

Is "Bucket" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Bucket" can be used as a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Bucket"?

"Bucket" is pronounced /ˈbə-kət/ and divided into syllables as buck·et.

What is the origin of the word "Bucket"?

"Bucket" comes from Middle English, from Anglo-French buket, from Old English būc pitcher, belly; akin to Old High German būh belly. First known use: 13th century.