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Glite Dictionary
to rain buckets

to rain buckets

1 5.6
To pour a lot of water from the sky
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : llover a cántaros
  • It's raining buckets, so don't forget your umbrella.

Examples

  • The spring rains bucketed down, turning the dirt to mud.

  • It's raining buckets.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Yesterday, it rained buckets, causing several streets to flood.

  • When it rains buckets, the children love to jump in puddles.

Synonyms

to pour
vsto rain buckets
588 1.0

To make liquid flow in a steady stream from a container

is specifically about very heavy sky water rather than general flow
to pelt
vsto rain buckets
8 5.5

To fall very hard, usually about rain

focuses more on large volume rather than on forceful impact
to rain cats and dogs
vsto rain buckets
  • Informal
3 5.9

To rain very hard

is the neutral literal description rather than an idiom
to bucket
vsto rain buckets
  • UK
1 8.4

To rain very heavily

is about heavy amounts rather than long continuous duration
to bucket down
vsto rain buckets
  • UK
1 6.5

To rain very hard

is the general heavy-falling idea without stressing nonstop duration
to come down heavily
vsto rain buckets
3.4

Rain that falls very hard

emphasizes large amounts more than violent force
to come down in stair rods
vsto rain buckets
  • Archaic
9.9

To rain very heavily

is a direct statement of heavy amount without figurative imagery
to raining pitchforks
vsto rain buckets
  • Informal
8.9

To rain very heavily with water falling fast and hard

is less figurative and more literal about large amounts

Antonyms

to drizzle
7 1.0

To rain very lightly with small drops falling slowly

How Heavy

to rain buckets
  • Informal
1 5.6
to pour
588 1.0
to rain
541 1.0
to drizzle
7 1.0

Surface Forms

rain buckets infinitive
rained buckets past
rained buckets past participle
raining buckets present participle
rains buckets third person singular

Morphology

rain + bucket

The meaning 'to rain very heavily' follows a clear metaphorical image—if you know 'rain' (precipitation) and 'bucket' (a container of water), you can plausibly infer many bucketfuls of water falling meaning heavy rain. However, the phrase relies on a metaphorical extension and a non‑compositional verb + plural noun pattern rather than a standard grammatical composition, so the sense is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

The verb rain buckets likely comes from a simple image: heavy rain that looks as if someone is pouring buckets of water from the sky. That's why it means 'to rain very heavily'.