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
These include dissolution, which uses solvents to recover polystyrene as pellets, and pyrolysis, which heats mixed plastic waste in low oxygen to produce oil-like feedstocks for new plastic. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 16 July 2026 Injections, patches and implantable pellets can last for weeks or several months. — Matthew Perrone, Fortune, 16 July 2026 Tiny black droppings or pellets (about the size of ground pepper or coffee) near hiding places are another potential sign. — Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 July 2026 The shotgun pellets destroyed her left eye socket, shattered the roof of her mouth, and profusely damaged her optic nerve, eyesight, nose and upper lip. — Rachel Hale, USA Today, 24 June 2026 The pellets can be rehydrated before adding them to potting soil or added dry. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 21 June 2026 An individual holds a handful of hail pellets in Waite Park, Minnesota, after storms rolled through on June 19, 2026. — Nick Lentz, CBS News, 20 June 2026 And because the pellets were some 30 meters away from the cave’s entrance, the team could rule out their incineration by a natural wildfire. — Sahas Mehra, Scientific American, 19 June 2026 And what are these pellets on the ground? — Hailey Salvian, New York Times, 16 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pellets
  1. bullets
  2. clumps
  3. balls
  4. lumps
Noun
  • Roughly a month before Kirk’s killing, Twiggs said Robinson asked for a Dremel, a tool used for sanding or grinding, to engrave bullets for an upcoming family hunting trip.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
  • Without superpowers or magic to fall back on, heroes had to rely on little more than implausible levels of ingenuity and resilience, a capacity to dodge bullets/laser fire, and a gift for making the right quip at the right time.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 11 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
  • The ticket matched four white balls and the red Powerball in the Powerball drawing on Wednesday, July 15, according to the Idaho Lottery and the National Powerball website.
    — Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 16 July 2026
  • Dim sum raves transform historic teahouses into energetic spaces where partygoers eat dim sum beneath disco balls.
    — Sam Flemming, AJC.com, 15 July 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
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Cite this Entry

“Pellets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pellets. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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