bushel

¹ American  

[boosh-uhl] / ˈbʊʃ əl /

noun

• bushels
  plural

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.

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bushel ² American  

[boosh-uhl] / ˈbʊʃ əl /

verb (used with object)

busheled, busheling, bushelled, bushelling

1. to alter or repair (a garment).

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bushel ¹ British  

/ 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

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bushel ² British  

/ ˈbʊʃəl /

verb

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

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bushel Idioms  

1. see hide one's light under a bushel.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• busheler
  noun
• busheller
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bushels
  plural

Etymology

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; see boss ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bushel bushels busheling

Chicago contracts rose by their daily limit of 45 cents a bushel Wednesday, before rising further Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Wheat last traded up 0.9% for the session at $7.55 a bushel, on pace for its highest close since July 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Corn futures rose above $7 per bushel in early 2022 as commodities traders weighed fertilizer shortages and supply disruptions.

From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026

Wheat prices surged to record highs above $13 per bushel in early 2022.

From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026

And with wheat seed going for $2.50 a bushel, his plan means nearly $33 more in Hattie’s coffers.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Along with bushels of cash, the new investing powers will receive something else from these deals: new scrutiny.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

For corn, that is slightly higher than analyst estimates of 15.95 billion bushels, while for soybeans, it is lower than expectations of 4.45 billion bushels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

That crop is now seen at 1.05 billion bushels, down roughly 350 million bushels from last year and roughly 100 million lower than forecast by surveyed analysts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

Now the farmer expects 160 bushels an acre, Sinclair said, since he plans to cut back on fertilizer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

All that work and he’d brought home a measly two bushels.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

They got enough to keep 'em busy busheling the jobs them war correspondents turns in on them.

From Worrying Won't Win by Montague Glass

So his third evil is the busheling and harrying of genius….

From Fate Knocks at the Door A Novel by Will Levington Comfort

He did mostly cutting and fitting, but some "busheling."

From The Negro at Work in New York City A Study in Economic Progress by George Edmund Haynes