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

Leonard gets fined $700,000, also a drop in the bucket for someone who should also have been suspended.

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

GM Defense is expected to bring in $700 million of revenue this year, a drop in the bucket for a company whose total 2026 revenue is projected to reach $186 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

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

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