bucket
6 synonyms for bucket, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A round, open container with a handle, used to carry liquids or loose items.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use bucket
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
a bucket of water
buckets of rain
kick the bucket
Etymology
From Middle English buket/boket, partly from Old English bucc ("pitcher") and partly from Anglo-Norman buket ("pail"), ultimately traced to a Frankish word for "belly, stomach."
Full origin of bucket →Frequently asked questions
What does “bucket” mean?
The word “bucket” means a round, open container with a handle, used to carry liquids or loose items. In plain terms, a container for carrying liquids or loose material, or (informally) a large amount of something.
How do you pronounce “bucket”?
“Bucket” is pronounced BUH-kiht (/ˈbʌkɪt/ in IPA).
How do you use “bucket” in a sentence?
Here is “bucket” used in a sentence: “She filled the bucket with water to wash the car.”
What part of speech is “bucket”?
Depending on how it is used, “bucket” can be a noun and a verb.
Where does the word “bucket” come from?
The word “bucket” comes from Old English. From Middle English buket/boket, partly from Old English bucc ("pitcher") and partly from Anglo-Norman buket ("pail"), ultimately traced to a Frankish word for "belly, stomach.".
Is “bucket” a common word?
“Bucket” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.
How many meanings does “bucket” have?
“Bucket” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a round, open container with a handle, used to carry liquids or loose items.
What is a bucket list?
A bucket list is a personal list of experiences or achievements someone hopes to have before they die — running a marathon, say, or seeing the northern lights. The name plays on the idiom 'kick the bucket,' an informal way of saying to die. The term is informal but has become extremely common in travel and lifestyle writing.
What is the difference between a bucket and a pail?
They name the same object: a round, open container with a handle used to carry liquids or loose items. Pail is the somewhat older-fashioned word and survives mainly in American English and in set phrases like 'lunch pail'; bucket is the everyday word across most of the English-speaking world. Compounds almost always take bucket — bucket seat, bucket list, mop bucket.
