adjective
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of or characteristic of the countryside or country life; rustic
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of or relating to shepherds; pastoral
noun
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(sometimes plural) a pastoral poem, often in the form of a dialogue
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a rustic; farmer or shepherd
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of bucolic
1525–35; < Latin būcolicus < Greek boukolikós rustic, equivalent to boukól ( os ) herdsman ( bou-, stem of boûs ox + -kolos keeper + -ikos -ic
Explanation
As an adjective, bucolic refers to an ideal country life that many yearn for. If your parents wanted to raise you in a bucolic environment, you may find yourself living 45 minutes away from the nearest movie theater or person your age. Not ideal. You wouldn’t know it to look at it, but bucolic is a distant relation of cow, and all bucolic’s meanings can be connected to the bovine creature. Bucolic ultimately comes from the Greek boukolos, cowherd or herdsman. A bucolic could be a short poem about pastoral (cow) life or a country person, who is stereotyped as a cowherd. Used as an adjective, bucolic can refer to an idealized rural life (think life with cows) or to herdsmen (more cows). And that’s no bull.
Vocabulary lists containing bucolic
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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.
Jo is thinking warm, bucolic thoughts as she observes the ragtag procession.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
Katie Madio, a real-estate agent in Hudson, an affluent, bucolic town in Summit County, says she has helped 16 families move to the area over the past year from states including Texas and Florida.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
By contrast, “Shard II” is austere and cinematic, with Mr. Gilmore’s tom-toms—both live and reproduced—gently underpinning bucolic keyboards from Mr. Moran.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Captive in bucolic panopticons, their lives are at once aesthetically alluring, depressingly regressive and anthropologically fascinating.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
Even in the bucolic surroundings of Columbia, Seabiscuit could not escape the carnival atmosphere.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
