pellet

pel·let

a little ball or rounded mass, as of clay, paper, medicine, compressed food for animals, etc.
1. a crude projectile of stone, etc., as used in a catapult or early cannon
2. a bullet or an imitation bullet
3. any of various pieces of small, usually lead, shot

Origin of pellet

Middle English pelote from Old French from Vulgar Latin an unverified form pilotta, diminutive of Classical Latin pila, a ball, origin, originally , knot of hair: see pile

to make pellets of
to shoot or hit with pellets

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MLA Style

"pellet." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 27 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/pellet>.

APA Style

pellet. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/pellet

pellet

noun

A small, solid or densely packed ball or mass, as of food, wax, or medicine.
a. A bullet or piece of small shot.
b. A stone ball, used as a catapult missile or a primitive cannonball.

transitive verb

pel·let·ed, pel·let·ing, pel·lets

To make or form into pellets.
To strike with pellets.

Origin of pellet

Middle English pelet from Old French pelote from Vulgar Latin pilotta diminutive of Latin pila ball pilus hair (since the balls used in ancient Roman games were stuffed with hair)

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"pellet." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 27 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/pellet>.

APA Style

pellet. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/pellet

Noun

(plural pellets)

A small, compressed, hard chunk of matter.
a pellet of wood, paper, or ore
A lead projectile used as ammunition in rifled air guns.
Compressed byproduct of digestion regurgitated by owls. Serves as a waste disposal mechanism for indigestible parts of food, such as fur and bones.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present pellets, present participle pelleting, simple past and past participle pelleted)