Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kick the bucket

/ˈkɪk ðə ˈbʌkɪt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.98 in modern English

Syllables: kick- the buck-et
IPA: /ˈkɪk ðə ˈbʌkɪt/

34

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To die.

Colloquial; Humorous

verb

To break down such that it cannot be repaired.

Colloquial

Example Sentences

"The old horse finally kicked the bucket."
"My posthumous book Allegorizings, which will go to press in London and New York the minute I kick the bucket, is loosely governed by my growing conviction that almost nothing in life is only what it seems. It contains nothing revelatory at all."
"I think my sewing machine has kicked the bucket."

Etymology

There are many theories as to where this idiom comes from, but the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) suggests the following: * A person standing on a pail or bucket with their head in a slip noose would kick the bucket so as to commit suicide. The OED, however, says that this is mainly speculative; * An archaic use of bucket was a beam from which a pig is hung by its feet prior to being slaughtered, and to kick the bucket originally signified the pig's death throes. The OED finds this a more plausible theory. Another theory is given by Roman Catholic Bishop Abbot Horne: After death, when a body had been laid out, […] the holy-water bucket was brought from the church and put at the feet of the corpse. When friends came to pray […] they would sprinkle the body with holy water […] it is easy to see how such a saying as "kicking the bucket" came about. Many other explanations of this saying have been given by persons who are unacquainted with Catholic custom […]

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈkɪk ðə ˈbʌkɪt/
British English: /ˈkɪk ðə ˈbʌkɪt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

kicks the bucket (present, singular) kicking the bucket (participle, present) kicked the bucket (participle, past) kicked the bucket (past)

Phrases

bucket list

Frequently Paired Words

bucket list

Synonyms

kick it bite the dust buy the farm assume room temperature auger in be called home be gathered to one's fathers be like the the One be no more be with Jesus be with the Lord bite the big one

Questions

How do you pronounce kick the bucket?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɪk ðə ˈbʌkɪt/.
What does kick the bucket mean?: To die.
Where does kick the bucket come from?: There are many theories as to where this idiom comes from, but the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) suggests the following: * A person standing on a pail or bucket with their head in a slip noose would kick the bucket so as to commit suicide. The OED, however, says that this is mainly speculative; * An archaic use of bucket was a beam from which a pig is hung by its feet prior to being slaughtered, and to kick the bucket originally signified the pig's death throes. The OED finds this a more plausible theory. Another theory is given by Roman Catholic Bishop Abbot Horne: After death, when a body had been laid out, […] the holy-water bucket was brought from the church and put at the feet of the corpse. When friends came to pray […] they would sprinkle the body with holy water […] it is easy to see how such a saying as "kicking the bucket" came about. Many other explanations of this saying have been given by persons who are unacquainted with Catholic custom […]

How to pronounce kick the bucket

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