A drop in the bucket
A drop in the bucket
A very little part of something big, or huge.
A very little part of something big, or huge.You can say "a drop in the bucket" to emphasize that the amount or impact of something is very small when compared with the larger picture or thing. The idiom originates from the Bible and the comparison used is quite visual. For example, just as a single drop of water is a minuscule part of the whole bucket of water, the subject is a tiny portion of the whole. This is often used to stress the insignificance or inadequacy of something in comparison to what is required, or expected.
You can say "a drop in the bucket" to emphasize that the amount or impact of something is very small when compared with the larger picture or thing. The idiom originates from the Bible and the comparison used is quite visual. For example, just as a single drop of water is a minuscule part of the whole bucket of water, the subject is a tiny portion of the whole. This is often used to stress the insignificance or inadequacy of something in comparison to what is required, or expected.
Use cases
The charity's donation would be appreciated. But it's just a drop in the bucket compared to the funds needed to solve this issue completely. The contributions is usually welcomed, It is relatively small and wouldn't make a magnificent progresses in the grand scheme of the financial requirements needed to fully address the issue.
Your efforts to save water by not watering your lawn is a drop in the bucket in terms of global water conservation. This underscores that although such personal efforts are commendable, their overall impact on worldwide water conservation is minimal.
The new tax law may help a little, but it's just a drop in the bucket. It won't significantly help to curb the economic inequality we see nowadays. This suggests that the new tax law, even if possibly beneficial to some degree, is insufficient to resolve the larger problem of economic disparity.
For a billionaire, giving away a million dollars is just a drop in the bucket. Here the phrase is used to denote that for a billionaire, a million dollars is a very small fraction of their entire wealth.
Cutting down on your daily coffee might save you a few dollars, but it's just a drop in the bucket. To save your significant budget, you need to cut down on major expenses. This indicates that saving money on small items like coffee alone is not enough if the goal is substantial savings. Bigger changes in spending are required.
While the company's effort to go green is laudable, the five trees they've planted are merely a drop in the bucket compared to the deforestation happening globally. This emphasizes the fact that the company's act of planting five trees, although praiseworthy, does not contribute significantly to counteracting the global scale of deforestation.
For the large pharmaceutical company, the fine for unethical practices was just a drop in the bucket, not enough to deter future infractions. This suggests that the fine, although it might appear large to others, is relatively minimal for the company and unlikely to discourage them from repeating the same unethical practices.
The government's allocation of funds for education is merely a drop in the bucket thinking about what is needed to reform the country's educational system. This implies that the amount of funds allocated by the country is insufficient compared to the actual financial needs for a comprehensive reform of the education system.
The recent rainfall was just a drop in the bucket and did not preserve significantly the water levels of the depleting reservoir. This statement indicates that the recent rain could be a positive situation, but it was not enough to improve the problem of low levels of water in the reservoirs.
The number of people who adopted renewable energy sources last year is a drop in the bucket compared to the total population. This means that even if the number of people who made the switch would be potentially significant, it turns out smaller when compared to the overall population.
