# bucket

/ˈbəkət/ (US) · /bˈʌkɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/bucket
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. a container

noun · CEFR A1

a round container with a handle, used for carrying liquids or sand.

For teachers: a cylindrical or slightly conical vessel with a handle, typically used for transporting liquids or granular solids.

- The children filled their plastic bucket with seawater to build a sandcastle.
- The janitor left a bucket of soapy water in the hallway, nearly causing a safety hazard for the office staff.

### 2. a large amount

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

a very large amount of liquid or another substance.

For teachers: an informal quantifier denoting a significant volume, often used in the plural for emphasis.

- It was so hot during the race that he was sweating buckets by the finish line.
- The charity received buckets of donations after the local news featured the family's difficult situation.

### 3. machinery part

noun · CEFR B2 · Technical

the part of a large machine, like a digger, that picks up dirt.

For teachers: a scoop-shaped component of an excavating machine or conveyor system designed for material handling.

- The excavator's bucket was large enough to move a ton of earth in one go.
- The operator carefully tilted the bucket to release the gravel into the waiting truck without damaging the vehicle's frame.

### 4. basketball goal

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal · American English

a successful shot that goes through the hoop in basketball.

For teachers: an informal term for a successful field goal or the basket itself in basketball.

- He made a spectacular bucket right at the buzzer to win the game.
- The rookie struggled to find his rhythm early on, missing several easy buckets before finally scoring in the second quarter.

### 5. data storage

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a place to store a specific group of data in a computer system.

For teachers: a logical storage unit or category used to group related data points, particularly in hash tables or cloud storage.

- The software organizes the files into different buckets based on when they were created.
- The cloud architect configured a new storage bucket with strict permissions to ensure that sensitive user data remained encrypted and private.

### 6. to rain heavily

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal · British English

to rain very hard.

For teachers: to rain with high intensity; almost exclusively used in the progressive form with 'down'.

- We couldn't go for our walk because it was bucketing down outside.
- The match was eventually abandoned because it had been bucketing down for three hours, leaving the pitch completely waterlogged.

### 7. to group data

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to put information into different groups or categories.

For teachers: to categorize or partition data into discrete sets for analysis or storage.

- We need to bucket these customers by their age and spending habits.
- The researchers decided to bucket the survey responses into four distinct demographic groups to simplify the statistical modeling process.

## Examples

- She filled the bucket with soapy water to wash the car.
- The gardener carried a heavy bucket of soil across the yard to fill the new flower beds.
- In many rural areas without running water, residents must carry several buckets from the communal well each morning to meet their basic household needs.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.