kick the bucket

Meaning

1. (colloquial, euphemistic, humorous, idiomatic) To die.
2. (colloquial, idiomatic) To break down such that it cannot be repaired.

Synonyms

die

💀

pass away

croak

perish

snuff it

peg out

buy the farm

decease

drop dead

expire

pop off

exit

go

sniff it

cash in one’s chips

pass

breathe one’s last

choke

conk

give-up the ghost

demise

bite the dust

give up the ghost

pass on

ring down the curtain

cease to be

go to meet ones maker

join the choir invisible

go west

turn up one’s toes

wite

vanish

roll over

kick off

succumb

underlie

be dead

Translations

crever

den Löffel abgeben

💀

sterben

💀

casser sa pipe

abkratzen

morire

💀

ins Gras beißen

estirar la pata

πεθαίνω

passer l’arme à gauche

verrecken

het loodje leggen

mourir

💀

verscheiden

💀

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkɪk ðə ˈbʌkɪt/

Etymology

There are many theories as to where this idiom comes from, but the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) suggests the following:
* A person standing on a pail or bucket with their head in a slip noose would kick the bucket so as to commit suicide. The OED, however, says that this is mainly speculative;
* An archaic use of bucket was a beam from which a pig is hung by its feet prior to being slaughtered, and to kick the bucket originally signified the pig's death throes. The OED finds this a more plausible theory.
Another theory is given by Roman Catholic Bishop Abbot Horne.