Idiom: A drop in the bucket
Idiom: a drop in the bucket
Look at the picture and try to guess the meaning of the idiom 'drop in the bucket.'
a drop in the bucket: a very small or unimportant amount, especially when compared to something else.
Notes:
A bucket could hold tens of thousands of drops of liquid so a drop (one drop) would be a very small or insignificant (unimportant) amount of the entire bucket of liquid.
Sentence examples
- For years businesses have dumped toxic waste into the ocean thinking it was just a drop in the bucket but that behavior has destroyed many ecosystems.
- I cleaned for eight hours today but that's just a drop in the bucket of the work I need to do to get this house cleaned and organized.
- They caught one of the managers stealing form our inventory but that's a drop in the bucket of the internal theft in this company.
- I shouldn't be surprised I failed the class. The studying I did was a drop in the bucket of the requirements and I never went to class either.
- A $30 donation may seem like a drop in the bucket but Wikipedia says if everyone donated that amount their fundraising would be over in just one hour.
- We'll have to hire about 12 temporary workers because the holiday orders we fulfilled today are only a drop in the bucket of what we've got to do.
- I raked leaves all afternoon but I know it's just a drop in the bucket and the lawn will be covered again tomorrow.
- I know $200 is a drop in the bucket but please use it to make an extra payment on your student loans anyway.
- Your pennies may seem like a drop in the bucket but we're collecting coins from a total of 500 people so it's going to be a successful fundraiser overall.
- My company made a million dollars this year but that's a drop in the bucket compared to other businesses in the industry.
- The bake sale raised only a drop in the bucket of what's needed to buy the new football uniforms.
- "Two cans of beer at lunch?" "Yes. That's actually just a drop in the bucket of what I usually drink."
- The number of sit ups and pull ups you did today are just a drop in the bucket of what you'll be doing in future workouts.
- The bank tellers got a $100 bonus but that's a drop in the bucket compared to what the management team got.
Synonyms
- a drop in the ocean
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