kick the bucket
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
kick the bucket
- /ˈkɪk ðə ˈbʌkɪt/ UK, US
Where it comes 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 […]
verb kicks the bucket · kicking the bucket · kicked the bucket
-
To die.
The old horse finally kicked the bucket.
Similar: 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
- To break down such that it cannot be repaired. I think my sewing machine has kicked the bucket.
Translations
Every language
verb to die
| Español | estirar la pata, colgar los guayos, irse al otro barrio, colgar los tenis, petatearse |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 죽다 jukda |
| 日本語 | くたばる kutabaru |
| 中文 | 翹辮子 /翘辫子 qiào biànzi |
| Português | bater as botas |
| Français | passer l'arme à gauche, casser sa pipe |
| Deutsch | den Löffel abgeben |
| Italiano | tirare le cuoia |
| Română | da colțul, da ortul popii |
| Русский | преставиться prestavitʹsja |
verb to break down beyond repair
| 한국어 | 고장나다 gojangnada |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | endgültig im Eimer sein |
| Русский | накрыться медным тазом nakrytʹsja mednym tazom |
Talk about this word "kick the bucket." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/kick%20the%20bucket. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. kick the bucket. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/kick%20the%20bucket "kick the bucket." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/kick%20the%20bucket.Cite this
@misc{kick_the_bucket_2026,
title = {kick the bucket},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/kick%20the%20bucket},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
