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
- bucolically adverb
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
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.
When urban churchyards reached capacity in the 1830s, some U.S. cities opened cemeteries with planted trees and winding paths, creating bucolic places of remembrance and recreation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026
The sun is starting to go down outside — this is the time of day, he says, when Chaplin’s bucolic grounds remind him of Montecito’s San Ysidro Ranch — and he’s getting slightly philosophical.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2026
Looking back on her bucolic childhood in L.A.,
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2025
Her listing appeared to show a pristine, albeit A.I.-generated, house with smooth textures, clean walls and windows, a nice green lawn, and a bench out front under bucolic lighting.
From Slate • Oct. 17, 2025
In their wake fell a strange and bucolic calm, as if it were just another summer day, and nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
