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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pellets

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of pellet
as in beads

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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
Other sources include fibers shed when washing synthetic clothing, worn tire particles in storm runoff and spills of industrial plastic pellets known as nurdles. — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026 If pellets remain lodged inside, the group warned that an infection could, in the worst case, become life-threatening. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026 The man was riding a standup electric scooter north on Brickell Avenue near Southeast Seventh Street when the Mercedes pulled up to him, and the passengers began peppering him with pellets, according to a Miami police arrest report. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2026 According to a recent study, the first poo pellets helped spread nutrients to deeper parts of the ocean, fueling the evolution of bigger animals in more diverse ecosystems. — ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026 At the company’s Woburn research facility, lab technicians recently poured pellets into a molding machine to make forks. — Jennifer McDermott, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026 The technicians melted pellets to roll out flexible films for food packaging, like a bag for baby carrots. — ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026 Resin pellets were melted and extruded to created thin fibers, before they were spun together into the yarn. — Sarah Jones, Footwear News, 10 Aug. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pellets
  1. bullets
  2. clumps
  3. balls
  4. lumps
Noun
  • In June, Wior’s firm raised $200 million, in a round led by Smash Capital, on the strength of its Bullfrog platform, which can respond to a drone threat in seconds by shooting them out of the sky with bullets.
    — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Whereas these modern-style copper bullets — the next iteration — and there are several different manufacturers.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 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
  • Repetitive motifs in various shapes were her trademark, resembling netting, swirls or worms, but most often dots, dancing proudly on her canvases or as sparkling balls or dots of light in her installations in all their vibrant, psychedelic glory.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Sure, both signal callers struggled with bad reads, yet a few dropped balls and mental mistakes yielded a total of just 37 offensive plays.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of balls
Verb
  • The report lumps vastly different jobs into the same broad picture.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The current poll lumps together social media and messaging apps and digs into the reasons folks might quit.
    — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of lumps

Browse Nearby Words

pelletizing
pellets
pell-mell
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Cite this Entry

“Pellets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pellets. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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