pellet

noun pel·let \ ˈpe-lət \

Definition of pellet

1 a :a usually small rounded, spherical, or cylindrical body (as of food or medicine)

b :a wad of indigestible material (as of bones and fur) regurgitated by a bird of prey

2 :any of various projectiles fired from a weapon (such as an air rifle)

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pelletal

play \ˈpe-lə-tᵊl\ adjective

See pellet defined for English-language learners

See pellet defined for kids

Examples of pellet in a Sentence

the tightly packed pellets of a shotgun cartridge

Recent Examples of pellet from the Web

Officers found the suspects a short time later and concluded that the weapons were BB pellet guns.

— robert mccoppin, chicagotribune.com, "Two teens, juvenile charged with robbery in Glendale Heights," 30 Aug. 2017
Never again would I be subjected to the weird, brown buckwheat pellets that were neither chewy nor crunchy, not exactly mushy but far from solid.

— anya tchoupakov, Bon Appetit, "I Hated Buckwheat Groats With a Passion Until I Tried Them Like This," 22 Aug. 2017
The plastic pellets, often found in scrubs, go down the drain and can eventually pollute rivers, lakes, and oceans.

— liz krieger, Cosmopolitan, "10 Things You Need to Know Before Exfoliating Your Face," 14 Aug. 2017
Yet Tamir Rice, a black 12-year-old, was shot dead in Cleveland within seconds of being observed carrying what proved to be a pellet gun.

— david frum, The Atlantic, "The Chilling Effects of Openly Displayed Firearms," 12 Aug. 2017
As Hideki Matsuyama warmed up Sunday afternoon at the Bridgestone Invitational, his tee shots raised the question: Was that a golf club in his hands or a pellet gun?

— karen crouse, New York Times, "Hideki Matsuyama Ties a Course Record to Win the Bridgestone Invitational," 6 Aug. 2017
Waldemar Wojtczak, a Polish DJ who was collapsed at Miami’s airport with 53 pellets of cocaine inside his stomach, accepted a plea deal of three years in prison.

— david ovalle, miamiherald, "Polish DJ gets three years in prison for belly full of cocaine," 21 July 2017
Instead of a hand or clasp, the gripper is a balloon filled with styrofoam pellets and coffee grounds that conforms to objects and holds them tight when air is suctioned out.

— matthew hutson, Science | AAAS, "Watch this robotic appendage give humans a third arm," 17 July 2017
Rice had been playing with a pellet gun in November 2014 when two white officers pulled up on him outside a Cleveland recreation center and killed him.

— paula rogo, Essence.com, "No Federal Charges For Officer That Killed John Crawford III For ‘Shopping While Black’," 12 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pellet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of pellet

Middle English pelote, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *pilota, diminutive of Latin pila ball

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

pellet Synonyms

Synonyms

ball, bullet

Related Words

ammunition, cannonball, cap, cartridge, charge, dumdum, gunshot, lead, load, missile, pop, projectile, round, shell, shot, slug

Near Antonyms

blank

pellet

verb

Definition of pellet

transitive verb

1 :pelletize

2 :to strike with pellets

First Known Use of pellet

1607

PELLET Defined for English Language Learners

pellet

noun

Definition of pellet for English Language Learners

: a small, hard ball of food, medicine, etc.
: a small metal object that is shot from a gun

PELLET Defined for Kids

pellet

noun pel·let \ ˈpe-lət \

Definition of pellet for Students

1 :a little ball (as of food or medicine)

2 :a piece of small shot

3 :a wad of material (as bones and fur) that cannot be digested and has been thrown up by a bird of prey (as an owl)

Medical Dictionary

pellet

noun pel·let \ ˈpel-ət \

medical Definition of pellet

:a usually small rounded or spherical body; specifically :a small cylindrical or ovoid compressed mass (as of a hormone) that is implanted subcutaneously for slow absorption into bodily tissues