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 report stated that books are much more difficult to stock than the pallets Costco uses for other products. —Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2025

Farmers plowed up lead and iron shrapnel and even whole hand grenades by the pallet every harvest season. —Michael Jerome Plunkett september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025

There are no robots packing boxes, lifting pallets or cleaning offices. —Gene Marks, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025

In late February of 2024, Jordanian cargo planes flew over northern Gaza, dropping large pallets of food attached to giant parachutes down to crowds of scrambling Palestinians. —Tom Bowman, NPR, 28 Aug. 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