bushel

¹

[boosh-uhl]

noun

1. a unit of dry measure containing 4 pecks, equivalent in the U.S. (and formerly in England) to 2,150.42 cubic inches or 35.24 liters Winchester bushel, and in Great Britain to 2,219.36 cubic inches or 36.38 liters Imperial bushel. bu., bush.

2. a container of this capacity.

3. a unit of weight equal to the weight of a bushel of a given commodity.

4. a large, unspecified amount or number.

   a bushel of kisses.

bushel

²

[boosh-uhl]

verb (used with object)

busheled, busheling , bushelled, bushelling .

1. to alter or repair (a garment).

bushel

¹

/ ˈbʊʃəl /

noun

1. a Brit unit of dry or liquid measure equal to 8 Imperial gallons. 1 Imperial bushel is equivalent to 0.036 37 cubic metres

2. a US unit of dry measure equal to 64 US pints. 1 US bushel is equivalent to 0.035 24 cubic metres

3. a container with a capacity equal to either of these quantities

4. informal,  a large amount; great deal

5. to conceal one's abilities or good qualities

bushel

²

/ ˈbʊʃəl /

verb

1. (tr) to alter or mend (a garment)

Other Word Forms

• busheller noun
• busheler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bushel¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English bu(i)sshel, bus(s)chel, from Old French boissel, boistiel, equivalent to boisse unit of measure for grain (from assumed Gaulish bostia; compare Middle Irish bas, bos “palm of the hand, handbreadth,” Breton boz “palm of the hand”) + -el noun suffix

Origin of bushel²

1875–80, < German bosseln to patch < French bosseler to emboss; boss ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of bushel¹

C14: from Old French boissel , from boisse one sixth of a bushel, of Gaulish origin

Origin of bushel²

C19: probably from German bosseln to do inferior work, patch, from Middle High German bōzeln to beat, from Old High German bōzan

Idioms and Phrases

see hide one's light under a bushel.

Example Sentences

From January through August of this year, Chinese buyers purchased just over 200 million bushels of U.S. soybeans, compared with almost 1 billion bushels over the same period last year.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That demand drop led to the price of soybeans sinking to around $10 per bushel, not enough for farmers to break even.

Read more on BBC

Last week, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick repeated his earlier criticism of India's fierce safeguards, asking why a country of 1.4 billion people wouldn't "buy one bushel of US corn".

Read more on BBC

Then he straight-up swiped “The Tonight Show” from under O’Brien, yielding bushels of acrimony in doing so.

Read more on Salon

My sister and I, along with our four cousins, spent many afternoons throughout the summer with our grandmother shelling bushels of peas and shucking corn.

Read more on Salon