Lexical entry · EN · standard
kick the bucket
A compositional verb phrase that also has a fixed informal idiomatic reading meaning to die, with a tone that can sound humorous, blunt, or irreverent.
01Strike a particular bucket with the footTo hit or move the contextually identified bucket with the foot.Details
Formal definition
To strike, propel, or displace the bucket identified by the definite noun phrase by means of a movement of the foot.
In plain English
Actually kick a bucket.
Choose the right word
Nearby, not interchangeable
- bucketassociated with
An open-topped container, typically with a handle, used to hold or carry materials.
Bucket names the ordinary container that serves as the direct object in the literal reading.The literal object contributes no death meaning.
Patterns
How it behaves
subject + kick + the bucket (+ complement)The phrase behaves as an ordinary transitive construction in which bucket is the affected object.
“She kicked the bucket away from the doorway.”
Examples
In a sentence
“She accidentally kicked the empty bucket across the floor.”
“He kicked the bucket aside before carrying the boxes through.”
Research trail
Sources consulted
- bucketCambridge University Press & Assessment
Cambridge Dictionary, entry for bucket.
Open source - kickCambridge University Press & Assessment
Cambridge Dictionary, entry for kick.
Open source
kick-the-bucket-literal-actionRelations1Evidence2 research sources · 2 verified examples02Die (informal idiom)To die, expressed in an informal and often humorous or irreverent way.Details
Formal definition
To die; used as a fixed informal idiom whose tone may be humorous, blunt, irreverent, or deliberately euphemistic.
In plain English
An informal, sometimes joking way to say that someone died.
Choose the right word
Nearby, not interchangeable
- pass awaynear synonym
To die, expressed with a conventional softening euphemism.
Both mean die, but pass away conventionally softens the statement while kick the bucket can sound comic or blunt.Pass away is usually safer in sensitive contexts. - croaknear synonym
To die, expressed in a very informal and often disrespectful way.
Croak shares the informal death meaning and can be even more dismissive or disrespectful.Both require careful judgment around people and bereavement. - expirenear synonym
To die, expressed in formal or clinical language.
Expire can denote the same event but belongs to a markedly more formal or clinical register.Similar denotation, contrasting register. - irreverent registerassociated with
A manner of expression that deliberately withholds conventional solemnity or respect.
The idiom often carries an irreverent or humorous stance toward death, though context can reduce or intensify that effect.Register association, not core denotation.
Core relations
Meaning neighborhood
- surviveantonym
To remain alive after danger, illness, or a threatening event.
Survive describes remaining alive where the idiom describes dying.
Patterns
How it behaves
subject + kick/kicks/kicked + the bucketTense and agreement change the verb; the article and noun are normally fixed.
“The narrator hoped to finish the memoir before he kicked the bucket.”
Examples
In a sentence
“The comic narrator lists places to visit before he kicks the bucket.”
“The family learned that their reclusive uncle had kicked the bucket years earlier.”
“The fictional miser hid the map before he kicked the bucket.”
Research trail
Sources consulted
- kick the bucketHarperCollins Publishers
Collins English Dictionary, entry for kick the bucket.
Open source - kick the bucketMerriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, entry for kick the bucket.
Open source - kick the bucketCambridge University Press & Assessment
Cambridge Dictionary, entry for kick the bucket.
Open source
kick-the-bucket-idiom-dieRelations5Evidence3 research sources · 3 verified examplesForms and pronunciation
How it appears
- inflection
- kicking the bucket
- inflection
- kicked the bucket
- headword
- kick the bucket