pail

[ peyl ]

/ peɪl /

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See synonyms for pail on Thesaurus.com

noun

bucket.

the amount filling a pail.

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QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of pail

First recorded before 1000; Middle English payle “wooden container,” continuing Old English pægel “wine container, liquid measure” (of unknown origin; compare Middle Dutch, Low German pegel “half pint”), by association with Old French paielle “pan,” from Latin patella; see patella

regional variations of pail

1. See bucket.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pail

pale, pail

Words nearby pail

paid-up, Paige, paigle, Paignton, pai-hua, pail, pailful, paillard, paillasse, paillette, paillon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use pail in a sentence

He went up to a park, in Inwood, northern Manhattan, and the garbage pails are all full and there’s papers flying around and there are these park employees just sitting there.
How Does New York City Keep Reinventing Itself? (Bonus)|Kurt Andersen|March 21, 2021|Freakonomics
My nostrils have smelt the horrors of the (cloth) diaper pail.
Why Men Shouldn’t Wait To Have Kids|Conor P. Williams|March 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Homer uses metaphor—‘it was so crowded, it was like bees swarming over a pail of milk.’
Denis O’Hare Talks About One-Man Show “An Iliad”|Janice Kaplan|March 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Let us try to set aside—preferably forever—the image of the ever-immaculate Romney crouched bare-assed over a pail.
Mitt Romney's 'Missionary in France' Tale Won't Make Us Forget He's Rich|Michelle Cottle|December 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST

But it was hard to be the party of Wall Street and the party of the lunch-pail at the same time.
Why Obama Can Spend, Spend, Spend|Peter Beinart|December 24, 2008|DAILY BEAST
At the farm-gate they met Dorothy, fresh and blooming as a rose, with a pail in each hand foaming to the brim with milk.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
She kicked at Jehosophat and over went the pail of milk which his father had almost full.
Seven O'Clock Stories|Robert Gordon Anderson
Sometimes a milk-pail is represented near a lamb, or hanging on a crook by its side, or even resting on its back.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow
He listened carefully before, standing outside in the cold, he poured over his head and shoulders a pail of cold water.
The Amazing Interlude|Mary Roberts Rinehart
The root thus broken up is rubbed about in a great pail, with water slowly added.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for pail

pail

/ (peɪl) /

noun

a bucket, esp one made of wood or metal

Also called: pailful the quantity that fills a pail

Word Origin for pail

Old English pægel; compare Catalan paella frying pan, paella

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pail

Origin of pail

regional variations of pail

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH pail

Words nearby pail

Words related to pail

How to use pail in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pail

Word Origin for pail