rustbucket

[ruhst-buhk-it]

noun Slang.

an old, run-down freighter, especially one whose hull is covered with rust.

Origin of rustbucket

First recorded in 1940–45; rust + bucket

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for rust bucket

rust bucket

noun

slang something that is run-down or dilapidated, esp a very badly rusted car

adjective rustbucket

informal run-down or dilapidatedrustbucket factories

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