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
Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 19 Apr. 2026
In addition to rain showers, parts of Ada County saw a sudden onslaught of snow pellets known as graupel, Groenert told the Idaho Statesman over the phone.
—Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 16 Apr. 2026
The pellets’ special coating is designed to gradually release food during warmer months when the plants are growing the fastest.
—Teresa Woodard, Midwest Living, 14 Apr. 2026
In the Ring video, a person dressed in black pants and a gray T-shirt, with a gray sweatshirt draped over his shoulder, chases two dogs down a residential street, spraying them with pellets from what looks like a gel gun.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2026
This year, sheep also had to forage for their food pellets inside a colorful sphere with holes in it.
—ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
Sheriff’s officials said victims struck by BB pellets suffered minor injuries and were either treated by medics at the scene or declined medical attention.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 30 Mar. 2026
The safest fertilizers to apply are organic, low analysis (the three numbers representing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are all single digits), or slow-release pellets.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 26 Mar. 2026
His dad needed to pop in to check something, and what caught Will’s eye was a large drum of polyethylene pellets, the raw bits that get melted down and stretched into plastic wrap and plastic bags.
—Eric Boodman, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026
Noun
In 2025, results from the Advanced Test Reactor indicated that ANEEL fuel pellets maintained their structural integrity after several months of testing.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 19 Apr. 2026
In addition to rain showers, parts of Ada County saw a sudden onslaught of snow pellets known as graupel, Groenert told the Idaho Statesman over the phone.
—Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 16 Apr. 2026
The pellets’ special coating is designed to gradually release food during warmer months when the plants are growing the fastest.
—Teresa Woodard, Midwest Living, 14 Apr. 2026
In the Ring video, a person dressed in black pants and a gray T-shirt, with a gray sweatshirt draped over his shoulder, chases two dogs down a residential street, spraying them with pellets from what looks like a gel gun.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2026
This year, sheep also had to forage for their food pellets inside a colorful sphere with holes in it.
—ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
Sheriff’s officials said victims struck by BB pellets suffered minor injuries and were either treated by medics at the scene or declined medical attention.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 30 Mar. 2026
The safest fertilizers to apply are organic, low analysis (the three numbers representing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are all single digits), or slow-release pellets.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 26 Mar. 2026
His dad needed to pop in to check something, and what caught Will’s eye was a large drum of polyethylene pellets, the raw bits that get melted down and stretched into plastic wrap and plastic bags.
—Eric Boodman, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pellets
Noun
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Using mathematical and three-dimensional modeling, the researchers scrutinized the damage on Pompeii’s walls and ultimately found that the angles and grooves didn’t match typical sling bullets or catapult shots.—
Taylor Mitchell Brown,
Scientific American,
20 Apr. 2026
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Months earlier, miners had dug foxholes under tents so women and children could avoid bullets randomly fired through the camps.—
Robert Forrant,
The Conversation,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Nick Pivetta’s body language evidenced frustration after two high fastballs — a staple pitch for the Padres’ ace — were called balls.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Pierson has also donated hundreds of tennis balls to local animal shelters in Massachusetts.—
Jacob Wycoff,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 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 22 Apr. 2026.
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