drop in the bucket

Idioms  

1. A very small quantity, especially one that is too small. For example, These contributions are just a drop in the bucket; the new church wing will cost thousands more. John Wycliffe's followers used this seemingly modern phrase in their translation of the Bible (1382), and it also appears in the 1611 King James version (Isaiah 40:15): “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance.”

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Example Sentences

That’s a drop in the bucket compared with Musk, who holds External link 6.4 billion shares of SpaceX.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

When the first tranche of files was made public, he said they represented a "drop in the bucket" compared to what was to come.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

The problem with this way of thinking is that each of us contributes an infinitesimally small drop in the bucket of global greenhouse gases.

From Slate • May 15, 2026

They create so much wealth and prosperity already that the energy business is a drop in the bucket.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

Two hundred silvers is a drop in the bucket for him.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

Related Words

• bit
• trivial amount