pail

IPA/peɪl/
KK[pˈel]IPA/peɪl/

pail — noun

  • pailsingular
  • pailsplural

1. A container, usually made of metal or plastic, with a handle and an opening at t

1.名詞B1
釋義

A container, usually made of metal or plastic, with a handle and an opening at the top, used on a farm, in a garden, or at home to carry or hold water, soil, sand, or other loose materials.

例句

Grandpa filled the metal pail with fresh soil and carried it to the flower bed.

fill + pail + with + [contents]

Two children took a plastic pail and red spade to build sandcastles at the beach.

同義詞
  • bucket

    Everyday synonym; bucket is far more common in modern speech across all contexts.

  • canister

    A container for dry goods, usually with a lid; not a direct substitute for pail used for liquids.

用法筆記

Pail is less common than bucket in everyday modern speech. It often sounds old-fashioned or rural, but it survives in specific compound nouns (milk pail, slop pail) and in some regional varieties of English.

常見錯誤

❌Grab a pail and mop the floor.
✅Grab a bucket and mop the floor.
💡In household cleaning contexts, bucket is the natural choice; pail can sound oddly old-fashioned or regional.

2. The amount of a substance, such as water, grain, or sand, that is enough to fill

2.名詞B1
釋義

The amount of a substance, such as water, grain, or sand, that is enough to fill a pail all the way to the top.

例句

The farmer gave each pig a pail of grain before the sun went down.

a pail of + [substance] — measurement pattern

Folake bought a pail of strawberries at the market and made jam that evening.

同義詞
  • bucketful

    Exact synonym; bucketful is more transparently a measurement.

  • pailful

    Same meaning, but even less common than pail itself.

文法句型

a pail of + [uncountable noun]

用法筆記

This sense always appears in the construction a pail of + [uncountable noun or plural noun]. It describes a rough, not an exact, measurement — the same as bucketful.

常見錯誤

❌I drank a pail of water after the run.
✅I drank a bucket of water after the run.
💡The measurement sense is correct, but bucket is the more natural word in non-rural contexts.