Definition of PELLET

pellet

Plural: pellets

Noun

  • a small sphere
  • a solid missile discharged from a firearm
  • A small, compressed, hard chunk of matter.
  • A lead projectile used as ammunition in rifled air guns.
  • Compressed byproduct of digestion regurgitated by owls and many other birds of prey, which serves as a waste disposal mechanism for indigestible parts of food, such as fur and bones.
  • A roundel sable (black circular spot).
  • One of the short conductive tubes in a Pelletron particle accelerator.

Verb

Verb Forms: pelleted, pelleting, pellets

  • To strike or cover with small, rounded masses.
  • To form into pellets.
  • To strike with pellets.

Examples

  • a pellet of wood, paper, or ore
  • He watched his opponent PELLET the board with small, quick two-letter words.

Origin / Etymology

Inherited from Middle English pelote, pelet, from Old French pelote (“small ball”), from Vulgar Latin *pilotta, diminutive of Latin pila (“ball”). Doublet of pelota.

Synonyms

shot, ogress, pelletize

Scrabble Score: 8

pellet: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
pellet: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
pellet: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

pellet: valid Words With Friends Word