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# bucketful

noun (a bucketful, bucketfuls)

«bucketful» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. The amount that one bucket can hold: «a bucketful of water». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bucketful/#m1)
2. (informal) A large amount: «bucketfuls of rain». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bucketful/#m2)

### In the lessons

In maths and science problems «bucketful» is a unit of measure: if a bucket holds 10 litres, 3 bucketfuls hold 30 litres. In everyday talk, «it rained buckets» or «bucketfuls» means very heavy rain. Phrases: «by the bucketful».

### Examples

- We carried a bucketful of sand to make the castle. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bucketful/#x1)
- It took six bucketfuls to fill the paddling pool. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bucketful/#x2)
- The bucket holds 8 litres, so 4 bucketfuls are 32 litres. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bucketful/#x3)
- She poured a bucketful of water over the campfire. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bucketful/#x4)
- They earned money by the bucketful. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bucketful/#x5)
- The farmer gave the pigs a bucketful of scraps. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bucketful/#x6)
- The Prince gave him a second bucketful. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bucketful/#x7)

### Note

Plural: bucketfuls (standard) or bucketsful (rarer). Same pattern: spoonful, cupful, handful. In maths: number of bucketfuls × capacity of one bucket = total.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «bucketful» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bucketful/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«bucketful» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/bucketful.html) on Mova free.