pellet

1 of 2

noun

pel·​let ˈpe-lət How to pronounce pellet (audio)
1
a
: a usually small rounded, spherical, or cylindrical body (as of food or medicine)
b
: a wad of indigestible material (as of bones and fur) regurgitated by a bird of prey
2
: any of various projectiles fired from a weapon (such as an air rifle)
pelletal adjective

pellet

2 of 2

verb

pelleted; pelleting; pellets

transitive verb

1
2
: to strike with pellets

Examples of pellet in a Sentence

Noun the tightly packed pellets of a shotgun cartridge
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
The grounds attract other wildlife too, like warthogs who try to snack on leftover giraffe pellets. Catherine Garcia, theweek, 5 Nov. 2024 This nugget ice maker produces delicious flakey and chewable pellets, but the machine itself is quite bulky and heavy, taking up quite a bit of space. Camryn Rabideau, People.com, 7 Oct. 2024
Verb
Extremely high temperatures inside the reactor in those first few days are believed to have melted parts of the zirconium alloy fuel rods and some of the uranium pellets themselves. IEEE Spectrum, 16 Mar. 2011 Drawbacks: Testosterone pellets tenet to result in larger fluctuations in testosterone levels, require surgery to be replaced, and do not always result in optimal testosterone levels [12]. The Salt Lake Tribune, 16 Aug. 2023 See all Example Sentences for pellet 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English pelote, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *pilota, diminutive of Latin pila ball

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pellet was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near pellet

Cite this Entry

“Pellet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pellet. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

pellet

noun
pel·​let
ˈpel-ət
1
a
: a little ball (as of food or medicine)
b
: a wad of material (as of bones and fur) that could not be digested and was regurgitated by a bird of prey (as an owl)
2
b
: a piece of small shot

Medical Definition

pellet

noun
pel·​let ˈpel-ət How to pronounce pellet (audio)
: a usually small rounded or spherical body
specifically : a small cylindrical or ovoid compressed mass (as of a hormone) that is implanted subcutaneously for slow absorption into bodily tissues

More from Merriam-Webster on pellet

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!