Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - bucket

~1 n 1 »CONTAINER« an open container with a handle, used for carrying and holding things, especially earth or water  (a bucket of water) 2 also bucketful the quantity of liquid that a bucket can hold + of  (It took four buckets of water to wash the car.) 3 »PART OF MACHINE« a part of a machine shaped like a large bucket and used for moving earth, water etc 4 by the bucket/bucketful informal in large quantities  (drinking beer by the bucket) 5 sweat/weep buckets informal to sweat1 (1) or cry a lot 6 in buckets informal if rain comes down in buckets, it is raining very heavily  (- see also kick the bucket kick1 (12), a drop in the bucket drop2 (8)) ~2 v bucket down ~ phr v BrE informal to rain very hard  (It's been bucketing down all day.)