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

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

From MarketWatch ● May 4, 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

At about $4.67 a bushel, the price is in line with that of a year ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

At the local grain elevator, Guinnip is offered about $10 a bushel for his soybeans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026

Van wore khakis, a golf shirt, and tennis shoes; he stood six feet tall and weighed 185 pounds, fit, his head a bushel of blond hair.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal on average projected U.S. wheat output at 1.52 billion bushels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Wheat production was cut to 1.54 billion bushels, down nearly 20 million bushels due to lower output of hard red winter wheat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 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

His 600 bushels will likely end up in poultry feed in the South.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026

American farmers produce thirteen billion bushels of corn a year.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

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

From Worrying Won't Win by Glass, Montague

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

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

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

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