pail
Pail (noun) means a round container with a handle, used for carrying liquids or other loose materials; a bucket. Example: “The children filled their pails with sand at the beach.”
How to use pail
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA bucket, typically used for carrying water or other liquids.
"Pail" is more common in American English; British English tends to say "bucket."
Word forms
pails plural
Fill the gap
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The children filled their _____ with sand at the beach.
Etymology
From Middle English payle (“bucket, pail, milking pail”), of uncertain origin. Likely from Old English pæġel (“wine vessel, container for liquids, pail; a liquid measure”), from Proto-West Germanic *pagil, from Proto-Indo-European *bak- (“peg, club”), equivalent to peg + -le. Compare West Frisian pegel (“liquid measure, fourth of a litre, half-pint”), German Pegel (“level of liquid, level”), Middle Dutch pegel (“half-pint”), Danish pægl (“half-pint”). Doublet of peil. Alternatively from Old French paielle (“frying pan, warming pan; a liquid measure”), from Latin patella (“small pan, shallow dish, platter”), diminutive of patina (“broad shallow pan, stewpan”). Perhaps a conflation of both.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for pail
See all rhymes for pail →Frequently asked questions
What does “pail” mean?
The word “pail” means a round container with a handle, used for carrying liquids or other loose materials; a bucket. In plain terms, a bucket, typically used for carrying water or other liquids.
How do you pronounce “pail”?
“Pail” is pronounced payl (/peɪl/ in IPA).
How do you use “pail” in a sentence?
Here is “pail” used in a sentence: “The children filled their pails with sand at the beach.”
What part of speech is “pail”?
“Pail” is a noun.