bucketful

American  

[buhk-it-fool] / ˈbʌk ɪtˌfʊl /

noun

• bucketfuls
  plural

1. the amount that a bucket can hold.

   a bucketful of water.

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Spelling

See -ful.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bucketfuls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bucketful

First recorded in 1555–65; bucket + -ful

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bucketful bucketfuls

I have friends who choke down Greek yogurt by the bucketful, who eat handfuls of grilled chicken at a time, who dead lift their own body weight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

“We are losing older drinkers by the bucketful, but only gaining new ones by the thimbleful,” Mr. Menezes was quoted as saying in 1999 in The Scotsman newspaper.

From New York Times ● Jun. 14, 2023

The family unearthed bivalves by the bucketful, reaching the most plentiful beaches with their motorized metal dinghy.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 24, 2022

I could eat that garlic rice by the bucketful, same for the bone-in chicken adobo legs and thighs coated in a rich vinegar/soy marinade.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2021

"No," replied the prince flatly, as if he'd been offered a bucketful of coal.

From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman

She remembered trailing behind her grandmother cutting roses in her garden, lugging bucketfuls of flowers and inhaling the sweetness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026

“My hope is you will resist those bucketfuls of money,” Blumenthal told the Tour witnesses.

From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2023

They are absolutely delicious and we have bucketfuls of them every year.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2022

For Kummari, the few bucketfuls of water are a blessing.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 27, 2016

Waves broke over the bows, where bucketfuls of water streamed through the flimsy decking.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong