pellet

American  

[pel-it] / ˈpɛl ɪt /

noun

1. a small, rounded or spherical body, as of food or medicine.

2. a small wad or ball of wax, paper, etc., for throwing, shooting, or the like.

3. one of a charge of small shot, as for a shotgun.

4. a bullet.

5. a ball, usually of stone, formerly used as a missile.

6. 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.

7. (in Romanesque architecture) a hemispherical or disklike carved ornament.

8. Heraldry. ogress.

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verb (used with object)

1. to form into pellets; pelletize.

2. to hit with pellets.

pellet British  

/ ˈpɛlɪt /

noun

1. a small round ball, esp of compressed matter

   a wax pellet

2. 1. an imitation bullet used in toy guns

   2. a piece of small shot

3. a stone ball formerly used as a catapult or cannon missile

4. 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

5. a small pill

6. a raised area on coins and carved or moulded ornaments

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verb

1. to strike with pellets

2. to make or form into pellets

Other Word Forms

• pelletlike
  adjective

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

Jean-François Pellet, winemaker for Pepper Bridge Winery, also works as a vineyard manager for the winery as well.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 13, 2024

"Pellet ice, which is proven to chill drinks quicker, allow drinks to blend well, and eliminate the worry about choking hazards, is being replaced with new ice," they wrote.

From Salon • Jun. 8, 2023

Russia's legal team will be weakened by the absence of Allain Pellet of France, who announced his resignation in an open letter published this week.

From Reuters • Mar. 4, 2022

Industrial Pellet Association, a trade group, said that the southeastern United States, where much of the world’s biomass is currently harvested, had actually increased its forest stock in the past 50 years.

From New York Times • Dec. 2, 2021

King Pellet had gone to the library to work out some prognostications, and his guest was left gloomily in the hall.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• bullet
• pill