pellet
Americannoun
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pellets
plural
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a small, rounded or spherical body, as of food or medicine.
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a small wad or ball of wax, paper, etc., for throwing, shooting, or the like.
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one of a charge of small shot, as for a shotgun.
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a bullet.
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a ball, usually of stone, formerly used as a missile.
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Also called cast. Ornithology. a small, roundish mass of matter regurgitated by certain predatory birds, consisting of the indigestible remains, as the fur, feathers, and bones, of the prey.
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(in Romanesque architecture) a hemispherical or disklike carved ornament.
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Heraldry. ogress.
verb (used with object)
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pellets,
present (3rd person singular)
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pelleted,
past participle, past
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pelleting
present participle
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to form into pellets; pelletize.
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to hit with pellets.
noun
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a small round ball, esp of compressed matter
a wax pellet
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an imitation bullet used in toy guns
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a piece of small shot
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a stone ball formerly used as a catapult or cannon missile
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Also called: cast. casting. ornithol a mass of undigested food, including bones, fur, feathers, etc, that is regurgitated by certain birds, esp birds of prey
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a small pill
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a raised area on coins and carved or moulded ornaments
verb
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to strike with pellets
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to make or form into pellets
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pelletsimple
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pelletssimple
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have pelletedperfect
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has pelletedperfect
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am pelletingprogressive
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are pelletingprogressive
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is pelletingprogressive
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have been pelletingperfect progressive
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has been pelletingperfect progressive
Past
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pelletedsimple
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had pelletedperfect
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was pelletingprogressive
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were pelletingprogressive
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had been pelletingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pellet
1325–75; Middle English pelet < Middle French pelote < Vulgar Latin *pilotta, diminutive of Latin pila ball. See pill 1, -et
Explanation
A pellet is a small, rounded piece of something, especially a compressed nugget of some material. Many pets eat food that comes in pellets, including some fish, rabbits, and guinea pigs. You might feed your pet rat pellets each day, or heat your house by burning pellets made of compressed sawdust in a special kind of stove. When it hails or sleets, tiny pellets of ice fall from the sky, and your cousin's BB gun works by shooting tiny metal pellets from its barrel. Pellet is from the Old French pelote, "small ball," which has the Latin pelote, or "ball," as its root.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In the days following the crackdown, the government has not confirmed media reports that pellet guns were used on protesters.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
The Central Reserve Police Force didn't respond to our questions about the use of pellet guns and the injuries protesters appeared to sustain.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The law also prohibits throwing a “stone, pellet, bullet, arrow or any other missile, in, over, across, along or upon any street or sidewalk or in any public park.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
“A pellet cooker is a cheat code that gives you back about 85% of your time,” said Joe Zavala, of Zavala’s Barbecue outside Dallas, where he opts for the old-school route, with offset smokers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
He turned his face away, pulled his shirt over his mouth, and dropped the pellet into the bucket.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
"But these pellets are not safe. They can result in life-changing or, occasionally, life-threatening injuries. They also pepper the body with toxic lead, which can sometimes be difficult to remove safely," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
The supplies needed to keep them running - coking coal and iron pellets - are also running low.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The team also suggested that owl pellets may have served as fuel, which could explain why the tiny rodent bones contained within them show signs of burning.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
Exporters in Zhangmutou showed AFP a vast range of products their pellets would become, including drones and badminton birdies.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
They eat food pellets from hoppers in their cages and drink from bottles fitted with eyedroppers.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
The scientists calculated the balance of nutrients in edible portions of whole wild fish, used within pelleted salmon feed in Norway, compared to the farmed salmon fillets.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 20, 2024
When the grizzly family found the pelleted livestock grain they gorged for about an hour.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 28, 2020
Shrimp are fed a pelleted diet and are raised until they’re the proper size.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 10, 2020
BAC DNA was pelleted by centrifugation at 13,000 r.p.m. and 4 °C for 20 min.
From Nature ● May 8, 2018
Strolling bushrangers, if they escape being pelleted with lead by the enthusiastic rabbit hunters who bang suddenly among thickets, will find many vistas of loveliness.
From Plum Pudding Of Divers Ingredients, Discreetly Blended & Seasoned by Christopher Morley
When monsoon rains start pelleting down once again, they cover themselves with colorful plastic sheets, some laughing, singing and dancing as the water seeps through, leaving them soaking wet.
From US News ● Aug. 12, 2014
She stayed in Cuba four weeks, kept pelleting Castro with the pleas of her contacts.
From Time Magazine Archive
Patera Covers.—In cases where the style of ornament permits of it, patera covers are used instead of pelleting.
From Woodwork Joints How they are Set Out, How Made and Where Used. by William Fairham
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
