Bucket List: Definition, Examples, and Tips

Meaning 1：Pre-death wish list (Bucket list)

Bucket list 🔊

/ˈbʌkɪt lɪst/

A list of experiences or achievements you want to have before you die.

Pre-death wish list 🔊

➕

/priː dɛθ wɪʃ lɪst/

A list of experiences or achievements one hopes to accomplish before dying.

📁 Category：Culture & History 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📖 Root Explanation

From 'kick the bucket' (die) + 'list'; a list of experiences before death.

💡 Mnemonic

Visualize a bucket filled with dreams you must accomplish before you kick it.

📖 Example

Her bucket list has items like skydiving and writing a novel. 🔊 Her bucket list has items like skydiving and writing a novel.

🔗 Collocations

create a bucket list – To make a list of desired experiences before death

check off items from your bucket list – To mark completed experiences on your pre-death wish list

bucket list destination – A travel location you wish to visit before you die

🔄 Synonyms

life list (n) – A list of important things to do or achieve in one's life

wish list (n) – A list of desired things or experiences, often not limited to before death

dream list (n) – A list of aspirational goals, similar to a bucket list but less formal

📖 Cultural Story

Popularized by the 2007 film 'The Bucket List', the phrase originates from the idiom 'kick the bucket' meaning to die, used since the 16th century.