pallet

1 of 2

noun (1)

pal·​let ˈpa-lət 

1

: a portable platform for handling, storing, or moving materials and packages (as in warehouses, factories, or vehicles)

2

: a wooden flat-bladed instrument

3

: a lever or surface in a timepiece that receives an impulse from the escapement wheel and imparts motion to a balance or pendulum

pallet

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

: a straw-filled tick or mattress

2

: a small, hard, or temporary bed

Examples of pallet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The former Exide Technologies plant in Vernon melted down pallets of lead-acid car batteries in blast furnaces for nearly a century, blanketing up to 10,000 nearby properties with toxic dust, according to state officials. —Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026

In February, Bianco’s office seized 12 pallets containing 1,086 ballot boxes from the Riverside County elections office. —Raheem Hosseini, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Apr. 2026

Or at least the ability to successfully influence their parents that $45 eyeshadow pallets and contour and face stars are worth bumping up their allowances for. —Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 7 Apr. 2026

Yaxel Lendeborg was pulling pallets in a warehouse in high school, a lost kid who spent more time playing video games than studying. —Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle French palette, literally, small shovel — more at palette

Noun (2)

Middle English paillet, from Anglo-French paillete bundle of straw, from paille straw, from Latin palea chaff, straw; akin to Sanskrit palāva chaff

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pallet

• alate
• ballot
• fallot
• mallet
• palate
• palette
• shallot

Kids Definition

pallet

noun

pal·​let

ˈpal-ət

1

: a straw-filled mattress

2

: a small, hard, or temporary bed