pellets 1 of 2

noun

plural of pellet
as in bullets
a usually round or cone-shaped little piece of lead made to be fired from a firearm the tightly packed pellets of a shotgun cartridge

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pellets

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of pellet
as in beads

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pellets
Noun
The Shotgun Revival A spread of pellets gives greater chance of hitting a small, elusive target than a single bullet, which is why shotguns are now so common. — David Hambling, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 Arrabaca fired five to seven pellets from an airsoft rifle toward the building, according to authorities. — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 4 Aug. 2026 The pellets attracted and collected other toxic chemicals and were harming local aquatic plants and fish. — Sarah J. Morath, The Conversation, 3 Aug. 2026 Everybody out there that’s got a wood pellet stove — making wood pellets is huge. — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 29 July 2026 These furry vermin left over 40 poop pellets on the dry storage floor. — David J. Neal july 24, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026 Inspired by the discussion, Gaines, who was living on a farm in New Hampshire at the time, devised a survival game using sheep-marking dye pellets, hosting the first iteration in woods on his land in June 1981. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 22 July 2026 In addition to allegedly setting the fire, Arrabaca also fired five to seven pellets from an airsoft rifle toward the building, Barnacle said. — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026 As Textile Exchange notes, thermomechanical recycling—which essentially melts plastics down to create new pellets—has a couple limitations. — Sarah Jones, Footwear News, 21 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pellets
  1. bullets
  2. clumps
  3. balls
  4. lumps
Noun
  • Hard kills encompass nets, interceptors, bullets and other objects that physically take drones out of action in midair.
    — Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
  • The revelations from the court documents filed on July 29 in King County, Washington, also revealed that investigators believe four firearms were used to shoot bullets at the festival, based on preliminary reviews of casings found at the scene.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 30 July 2026
Definition of bullets
Verb
  • Dividing clumps every few years in early spring also maintains their vigor.
    — SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 11 July 2026
  • Like generations of potential treatments before it, KRSA-028 is designed to break down a protein called amyloid that clumps up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.
    — Allison DeAngelis, STAT, 18 Feb. 2026
Definition of clumps
Noun
  • OpenAI’s paper improves the best estimate for how tightly these balls can possibly be packed.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Now boys chased soccer balls across the square that was once a battlefield.
    — Lina Sergie Attar, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of balls
Verb
  • Critics also say Horvath lumps together different types of ed tech and doesn’t grapple with research that supports moderate use of computers in school.
    — Tyler Kingkade, NBC news, 31 May 2026
  • Most lumps such as these are noncancerous lipomas, or fatty tumors, and a decision on whether to remove them is based on whether the lumps interfere with movements or threaten other issues.
    — Joan Morris, Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2026
Definition of lumps

Browse Nearby Words

pelletizing
pellets
pell-mell
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pellets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pellets. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on pellets

Nglish: Translation of pellets for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nurture

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All