pelting
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- peltingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of pelting
1530–40; perhaps dial. pelt rags, rubbish (akin to Danish pjalt rag) + -ing 2. See paltry
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.
A man’s voice cut through the rain pelting the pitch-black Caribbean Sea, just audible between two boats tossed around by 10-foot waves.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
And about 2:25 p.m. as I passed Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills on the 134 Freeway, tiny white balls began pelting my wildshield.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 2, 2024
The weather had improved in the hour or so before kick-off but it's pelting down again now.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 2024
Two years later, a shop selling musical instruments opened in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, her hometown, and An became a fixture there, pelting the owner with questions.
From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2024
After a day of pelting rain, the lights of the inn were the most welcoming sight she had seen in her time on the Earth.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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.
