pail
Americannoun
-
a bucket, esp one made of wood or metal
-
Also called: pailful. the quantity that fills a pail
Regionalisms
See bucket.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
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
Explanation
A pail is a round, open container with a handle. At the beach, you can use a pail to carry water and sand, and also to mold the towers of your sandcastle. You can also call a pail a bucket — although pail implies a smaller container, exactly the sort a child would use, along with a small shovel, when playing in a sandbox. You might also use a pail to catch drips from a leaky ceiling, or pour a small amount of paint into a pail when you're touching up the trim in your bedroom. This word comes from the Old French paelle, "cooking or frying pan."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The reality is, however, she can’t and won’t; at some point, the bell rings and she must put on her coveralls and shake the pail of lip liners in front of us.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
Dan and Craig went up the hill to fetch a pail of glory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
“It was like someone took a pail of ice water and dumped it on my head,” said Dixon Camacho.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2025
The simplicity of a brain plopped in a pail for scientific research becomes something of a mordant sight gag.
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2024
Unfortunately, the children had learned the words according to the way they sounded, rather than what they actually meant, so that “All hail to our founder” became “A pail full of flounder” and so on.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Removing stagnant water, such as by emptying flowerpot plates, overturning unused pails and breaking up hardened soil, can help break the dengue transmission cycle.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Disney began selling simple souvenir popcorn pails in the 1990s and in 2010 introduced a 3D container modeled after Micky Mouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
Video taken by a bystander shows about 20 adults trying to dig her out using their hands and plastic pails, but the hole kept collapsing on itself.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2024
My invention is an improvement in dinner pails for workmen; and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices that will be more fully set forth hereinafter.
From Salon ● Jan. 16, 2024
“At least,” Mami said, “we don’t have to walk for miles with pails full of water on our heads.”
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
