bullet Hear it!

bullet Definition

bul·let (bo̵ol′it)

noun

  1. a small ball or cone-shaped missile of lead, metal alloy, etc., to be shot from a firearm
  2. loosely a bullet in its casing; cartridge
  3. anything like a bullet in shape, action, etc.
  4. a solid dot used as at the beginning of a line for emphasis
  5. ☆ a bullet-shaped symbol used to indicate a rapid increase in sales and airplay of musical recordings, videos, etc.

Etymology: Fr boulette, dim. of boule, a ball < L bulla: see bull

bullet Synonyms

bullet

n.

shell, cartridge, shot, ball, bolt, projectile, missile, ammunition, slug, steel-jacketed bullet, soft-nosed bullet, dum-dum bullet, machine-gun bullet, ammo*; see also shot 2, weapon 1.

bite the bullet*

face up to, confront, bear up; see endure 2, face 1.

bullet Usage Examples

Possessives

  • sniper: Capt A White survived the war, but fell to a sniper's bullet in Dublin in 1920.
  • assassin: His life was ended by an assassin's bullet five days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered.

Converse of object

  • bite: Not to worry, bite the bullet, the following day I called the Heritage offices.
  • dodge: The enemy fighter will try to dodge the bullets, thus steering into the missile's path.
  • vibrate: The Wet Dream is a delicious 6 inch tall finger shaped vibrator packed with extra power from its extra long multi speed vibrating bullet.
  • machine-gun: Just behind the tanks, straddling the trench line, came Bradleys pumping machine-gun bullets into Iraqi troops.

Adjective modifier

  • magic: There is no magic bullet - a healthy balanced diet with regular exercise seems to be the key.
  • stray: The casualties included Major Burger, wounded by a stray bullet.
  • speeding: Going on Holiday and want to get a message back home faster than a speeding bullet!
  • rubber-coated: Doctors testified that rubber-coated steel bullets being fired from too close a range apparently caused several of the 13 deaths.
  • jacketed: A " jacket " used to be a coat of mail, and today a jacketed bullet has something of the same meaning.
  • silver: Mobile phones are no " silver bullet " against poverty.

Modifies a noun

  • hole: The skull has a bullet hole on the upper left forehead.
  • wound: According to the BBC reporter, the victims all had single bullet wounds in the back of the head or neck.
  • proof: The inner two were made of stout trees, lined with flax making them almost bullet proof.

Noun used with modifier

  • tracer: On one occasion a machine gun was also being used firing tracer bullets.
  • rubber: They might as well be armed with rubber bands as rubber bullets, and no-one dare mention the use of live rounds.
  • rifle: Shot and shell and rifle caliber bullets had put the entire Gamecock Fleet out of action in a few minutes.
  • caliber: So the " 376 Steyr " was born, using readily available 375 caliber bullets.
  • sniper: No more killings that never end, Or snipers bullets that claim our friends.
bullet Quotes

The camera can be the most deadly weapon since the assassin's bullet.Or it can be the lotion of the heart.

—Smith

Thinköwhat I have got for Ireland? Something which she has wanted these past seven hundred years.Will

—Collins, Michael

In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place. So on we worked, and waited for the light, And went without meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet through his head.

—Robinson, Edwin Arlington

Darkness came down on the field and city: and Amelia was praying for George, who was lying on his face, dead, with a bullet through his heart.

—Thackeray,William Makepeace

What argufies pride and ambition? Soon or late death will take us in tow: Each bullet has got its commission, And when our time's come we must go.

—Diaz, Porfirio

   Every bullet has its billet.

—William III also called  William of Orange

Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

—Siegel,Jerome

Consider: only one bullet in ten thousand kills a man. Ask: was so much expenditure justified On the death of one so young and so silly Stretched under the olive trees,Oh, world,Oh, death?

—Spender, Sir Stephen Harold