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
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Recent Examples of pellets
Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 21 Mar. 2026
An Orbeez-type gun is typically used to shoot pellets containing liquid.
—Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2026
Embrace the slightly dystopian vibe and buy a bag of pellets from one of the old-timey pioneer stores to hand-feed the furry descendants.
—Zoey Goto, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2026
At the conference in Worcester, Andrus presented one plan put together by Upper Blackstone, the Narragansett Bay Commission and Springfield, Massachusetts, to build a single facility that would turn sludge into nutrient-rich pellets for land application.
—Alex Kuffner, The Providence Journal, 3 Mar. 2026
The older boy had dozens of pellets in his face, but amazingly none hit his eyes.
—ABC News, 27 Feb. 2026
Now, blasting aliens and gobbling power pellets with his sons has become sacred bonding time.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 26 Feb. 2026
Rain may mix with wet snowflakes or a few sleet pellets, especially northwest of Baltimore.
—Cutter Martin, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
The train was carrying plastic pellets that posed no hazard, and there were no fires or injuries.
—Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Noun
Cliff swallows make nests out of mud pellets that cling to overhangs.
—Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 21 Mar. 2026
An Orbeez-type gun is typically used to shoot pellets containing liquid.
—Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2026
Embrace the slightly dystopian vibe and buy a bag of pellets from one of the old-timey pioneer stores to hand-feed the furry descendants.
—Zoey Goto, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2026
At the conference in Worcester, Andrus presented one plan put together by Upper Blackstone, the Narragansett Bay Commission and Springfield, Massachusetts, to build a single facility that would turn sludge into nutrient-rich pellets for land application.
—Alex Kuffner, The Providence Journal, 3 Mar. 2026
The older boy had dozens of pellets in his face, but amazingly none hit his eyes.
—ABC News, 27 Feb. 2026
Now, blasting aliens and gobbling power pellets with his sons has become sacred bonding time.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 26 Feb. 2026
Rain may mix with wet snowflakes or a few sleet pellets, especially northwest of Baltimore.
—Cutter Martin, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
The train was carrying plastic pellets that posed no hazard, and there were no fires or injuries.
—Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pellets
Noun
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The team found that these black hole bullets carried with them energy 100 times greater than that of slower molecular winds that spread through the distant galaxy, which is the result of a recent merger and is currently in the midst of intense star formation.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
17 Mar. 2026
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There were more than 50 yellow cones in the middle of Gateway Boulevard, most of them covering bullets fired during the exchange.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Soccer City carries jerseys, balls and other fan essentials.—
Taylor Haught,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 Mar. 2026
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Edamame dip with crispy onions from Hello, Home Cooking, rosemary biscuits from Morning Baker, Buffalo party pizza from The Book of Pizza (cut with scissors, naturally), still-warm pimento cheese mochi balls (another hit from Ohana Style), and fluffy black-eyed pea fritters (Soomaaliya again).—
Nina Moskowitz,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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However, sometimes the abnormal IgA (the antibody that clumps up and causes problems) does run in families.—
Brandi Jones,
Health,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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
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Advertisement Breaking it down Artificial intelligence is an umbrella-term for several different technologies, from autonomous vehicles to chatbots—and the database lumps these together without a comprehensive structure.—
Harry Booth,
Time,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pellets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pellets. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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