Rate this phrase:4.0 / 4 votes

kick the bucket

To die.

Etymology:

  • There are many theories as to where this idiom comes from, but the OED discusses the following:
472 Views

The old horse finally kicked the bucket.

Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'kick the bucket':

kick the bucketOf a machine, to break down such that it cannot be repaired.
kick the bucketto die.
Kick the BucketTo perish, die or expire, no more alive
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the kick the bucket phrase in other languages:

spark til spanden

calciare il secchio

umrzeć

сыграть в ящик

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to kick the bucket

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this kick the bucket phrase with the community:

1 Comment
  • IzzyCohen
    This idiom is probably from a proto-Semitic metaphor: make love = עֲגוֹב [K]aGov + in Paradise = בעִדָן B'[K]aiDen " Hebrew [K]aGav B'3eDen kick (the) bucket. This is still a Middle East (virgins in heaven) euphemism to avoid saying "He died." 
    LikeReply7 months ago

Citation

Use the citation below to add this kick the bucket definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"kick the bucket." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/kick-the-bucket_4893>.

We need you!

Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

Quiz

Are you a phrases master?

»
Wise _____ owl.
A night
B feathered
C old
D bearded

Browse Phrases.com