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
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.
The show depicts the power struggles between patriarch John Dutton III, his children, the locals, and the outsiders seeking to change their bucolic ranching way of life.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Deep observers of his catalog also view it as his most biographical feature, citing how closely Satsuki and Mei’s bucolic retreat resembles a chapter in the filmmaker’s childhood when his own mother was gravely ill.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
British artist David Hockney's paintings captured the world in brilliant colour, from carefree 1960s California to the bucolic landscapes of his native Yorkshire.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
His harsh rebuke of her in an ironically bucolic setting is the movie’s most memorable scene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
The sun had just gone down, and its afterglow was backlighting the city, which formed low cliffs around the bucolic void to the idle stockyards.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
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.
