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

See Examples For:

drop in the bucket

The team is fined $30 million, a drop in the bucket to the owner who, with other executives, got suspended for up to a year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

“Because we are still talking a bout a drop in the bucket in terms of Treasury debt out there,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

Both sales were just a drop in the bucket.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 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

Maybe the water in her chopper is just a drop in the bucket, but it’s going to help someone somewhere.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Related Words

• bit
• trivial amount