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

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

Teaching unions said they would be scrutinising the proposals closely, with one saying the money was "barely a drop in the bucket" of what was needed because of "years of underfunding".

From BBC • Feb. 22, 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

Gran had left such a big hole in our lives to fill that I wondered if I could even be a drop in the bucket.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

Related Words

• bit
• trivial amount