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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
: 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
788 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
4 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 come down heavily
vsto rain buckets
1 3.4

Rain that falls very hard

emphasizes large amounts more than violent force
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 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
5 1.0

To rain very lightly with small drops falling slowly

How Heavy

to rain buckets
  • Informal
1 5.6
to pour
788 1.0
to rain
500 1.0
to drizzle
5 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'.