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bullet

[boo l-it]
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noun
  1. a small metal projectile, part of a cartridge, for firing from small arms.
  2. a cartridge.
  3. a small ball.
  4. Printing. a heavy dot for marking paragraphs or otherwise calling attention to or itemizing particular sections of text, especially in display advertising.
  5. Cards. an ace.
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verb (used without object), bul·let·ed, bul·let·ing.
  1. to move swiftly.
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Idioms
  1. bite the bullet, to force oneself to perform a painful, difficult task or to endure an unpleasant situation: We'll just have to bite the bullet and pay higher taxes.
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Origin of bullet

1550–60; < Middle French boullette, equivalent to boulle ball (see bowl2) + -ette -ette
Related formsbul·let·less, adjectivebul·let·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

dashhurrywipewhipdartflitwhirhurtlewhooshwhirlrushwhiskzipscurryscootjoghastenhustleflyshoot

Examples from the Web for bulleting

Historical Examples

  • An hour, then, till he and Elaine would be in the aircar, bulleting toward Traskon.

    Space Viking

    Henry Beam Piper

British Dictionary definitions for bulleting

bullet

noun
    1. a small metallic missile enclosed in a cartridge, used as the projectile of a gun, rifle, etc
    2. the entire cartridge
  2. something resembling a bullet, esp in shape or effect
  3. stock exchange a fixed interest security with a single maturity date
  4. commerce a security that offers a fixed interest and matures on a fixed date
  5. commerce
    1. the final repayment of a loan that repays the whole of the sum borrowed, as interim payments have been for interest only
    2. (as modifier)a bullet loan
  6. British slang dismissal, sometimes without notice (esp in the phrases get or give the bullet)
  7. printing See centred dot
  8. bite the bullet See bite (def. 14)
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Derived Formsbullet-like, adjective

Word Origin

C16: from French boulette, diminutive of boule ball; see bowl ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bulleting

bullet

n.

1550s, from Middle French boulette "cannonball, small ball," diminutive of boule "a ball" (13c.), from Latin bulla "round thing, knob" (see bull (n.2)). Earliest version of bite the bullet recorded 1891, probably with a sense of giving someone a soft lead bullet to clench in the teeth during a painful operation.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with bulleting

bullet

see bite the bullet; sweat bullets.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.