bucket list

American

noun

Informal.

a list of things a person wants to achieve or experience, as before reaching a certain age or dying.

a bucket list for a terminally ill patient;
What’s on your summer bucket list?

bucket list British

noun

informal a list of experiences one wants to have before one dies

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bucket list

First recorded in 2005–10; from the idiom kick the bucket “to die”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

bucket list

It is, in many respects, the bucket list to end all bucket lists.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

A shopkeeper given months to live after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer said "unbelievable" support from her community had allowed her to tick off almost all the items on her bucket list.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

WSJ: What’s still on your bucket list in terms of improving operations?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

The couple drove two hours from the Inland Empire to catch the bloom, which had been on Cruz’s bucket list.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

It isn’t with Abby, and I certainly won’t be crossing off that one item on Will’s bucket list, but just going makes me feel closer to them.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023