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

One of the fireworks companies at the site, Devastating Pyrotechnics, imported 750 pallets of perchlorate, according to previous Bee reporting. —Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2025

Their role in the operation was to unload the pallet boxes and remove the drugs from among the cucumbers, court papers say. —Michael Loria, USA Today, 2 July 2025

Firefighters found four moving vans and multiple pallets that caught fire outside the facility and flames that spread into the building, said Jason Pyle, assistant chief with Costa Mesa Fire Department. —Andrea Klick, Oc Register, 15 June 2025

This helps ensure that performance metrics such as delivery time, cost per pallet and stock accuracy are reliable. —Clemente Theotokis, Forbes.com, 31 July 2025

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