kick the bucket
Meet one's end
Kick the bucket is informal, slightly humorous slang for dying: He finally kicked the bucket at ninety-three.
The phrase softens the bluntness of death through its absurdity—nobody knows what bucket is being kicked.
It's casual enough to seem flippant when applied to recent or tragic deaths.
Euphemism for dying
- departedHaving left
- goneNo longer present
- crossed overWent to the other side
- final restDeath or the grave
eternal sleep · late · perished · no more · left us · rest in peace · bit the dust · met their maker
Service honoring the dead
- cemeteryPlace for interring remains
- graveyardPlot for interring the dead
- coffinBurial container for remains
- casketBurial container
morgue · mortuary · obituary · coroner · autopsy · deceased · bereavement · interment
Final portion or cessation
- demiseCessation of existence
- finishBring to completion
- closureSense of emotional resolution
- terminationAct of ending something
cessation · conclusion · finale · last breath · final curtain · lights out · curtains · the end
pass away
Euphemism for dying
- departedHaving left
- goneNo longer present
- crossed overWent to the other side
final rest · eternal sleep · late · perished · no more · left us · rest in peace · bit the dust · met their maker · pushing up daisies
funeral
Service honoring the dead
- cemeteryPlace for interring remains
- graveyardPlot for interring the dead
- coffinBurial container for remains
casket · morgue · mortuary · obituary · coroner · autopsy · deceased · bereavement · interment · pallbearer
end
Final portion or cessation
termination · cessation · conclusion · finale · last breath · final curtain · lights out · curtains · the end · swan song
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- Old Idiomsbeyond the pale, hue and cry, scot-free, knight in shining armor, eat humble pie
- death idiomsdead end, dead serious, dead wrong, dead tired, dead weight
- common sayingsproverbs, idioms, cliches, maxims, adages
- Euphemismspass away, passed away, passed on, expecting, with child
- combat idiomsstab in the back, dodge a bullet, in the crosshairs, fire away, take a shot
kick the bucketsurvive
Continue to exist
live · stay alive · pull through · make it · live on
kick the bucketbe born
Begin living
come into the world · see the light of day · come into being · arrive · spring to life
kick the bucketpass away
Euphemism for dying
depart this life · breathe one's last · meet one's maker · succumb · expire
kick, bucket, kicks, kicking, kickoff, buckets, sidekick, kicked, kicker