Loss of the sound of "r" after a vowel and before a consonant in the middle of a word is common in spoken English. This linguistic idiosyncrasy has given the language a few new words, including cuss from curse, bust from burst, and passel from parcel.
reporters had a whole passel of questions for the new basketball coach
the young couple helped a passel of students in the span of a few years
Recent Examples on the WebOn Tuesday evening, SpaceX launched its 42nd rocket of the year, carrying yet another passel of Starlink satellites into orbit.—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 24 Apr. 2024 Microsoft announced a whole passel of Copilot Plus PCs at its Surface event on Monday, and Samsung’s entries are a 14-inch laptop and two 16-inch ones, known collectively as the Galaxy Book4 Edge.—Nathan Edwards, The Verge, 20 May 2024 Molly learns a passel of thinpgs in this surrealist, carnivalesque bildungsroman.—Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024 Mothers, children, and the disabled clutch passels of documents along the sidewalk.—Abraham Nussbaum and Renee Y. Hsia, STAT, 2 Nov. 2023 See all Example Sentences for passel
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'passel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Share