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Glite Dictionary
drop in the bucket

drop in the bucket

15 4.9
A very small amount that does not help with a much larger problem
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : una gota en el océano
  • I have to agree with average Joe; $2 million is a drop in the bucket.
  • just a drop in the bucket

If you put a drop in the bucket, it's the most minute drop.

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Examples

  • Fresh water is a drop in the bucket: Just 2.53 percent of the Earth's water is fresh.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Even with his hard work, the amount he was able to contribute was merely a drop in the bucket regarding the overall campaign costs.

  • This issue is a drop in the bucket.

    The Insider (1999)

  • It's a drop in the bucket.

    Here Comes the Boom (2012)

  • A drop in the bucket.

    Prepare for Launch (2022)

  • The proceeds from such sales are a drop in the bucket.

    Academic text (1996)

  • What might be excruciating to one person may be a drop in the bucket to another.

    Blog text (9)

  • $3,000 is a drop in the bucket for a company like that.

    Blog text (27)

  • When it comes to corporate campaign contributions, employee payroll deductions are "a drop in the bucket."

    Blog text (24)

  • I've gathered over 100,000 specimens, which is really only a drop in the bucket.

    Kinsey (2004)

Synonyms

drop in the ocean
vsdrop in the bucket
  • Informal
2 3.8

A very small amount compared with what is needed

stresses being negligible when judged against actual needs or big problems
tinker's damn
vsdrop in the bucket
  • NSFW
2 9.9

Something of little or no worth

frames insignificance as tiny compared to what is needed or to large problems
drop in the sea
vsdrop in the bucket
  • Informal
5.5

A very small amount compared with what is needed

emphasizes insignificance relative to what is needed or to a larger problem
drop in the pond
vsdrop in the bucket
  • Informal
5.8

A very small amount compared with what is needed

highlights insignificance especially against needs or major problems

Antonyms

significant impact
19 3.3

A large effect that causes an important change

How Much

enormous
842 2.1
large
∞ 1.0
drop in the bucket
  • Informal
15 4.9
trace
492 3.3
nothing
1.0

Surface Forms

drop in the bucket singular
drops in the bucket plural

Morphology

drop + in + the + bucket

The meaning 'a very small or insignificant amount' is directly derivable from combining 'drop' (a small bead of liquid) with 'in' + 'bucket' (a container): one drop inside a bucket is easily understood as negligible compared with the whole. This concrete physical image and parallel expressions across languages make the expression immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

The phrase drop in the bucket comes from the picture of a single small drop falling into a big bucket of water, where it makes almost no difference. So, it means 'a very small amount' or 'insignificant' compared with what is needed.