# pellet

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɛl.ɪt/ · frequency rank #25,525

## Definitions
1. A small, compressed, hard chunk of matter.
2. A lead projectile used as ammunition in rifled air guns.
3. 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.
4. A roundel sable (black circular spot).
5. One of the short conductive tubes in a Pelletron particle accelerator.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **pelt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pellet-vs-pelt)
- **pulled** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pellet-vs-pulled)
- **pollen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pellet-vs-pollen)
- **polled** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pellet-vs-polled)
- **pulley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pellet-vs-pulley)
- **piglet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pellet-vs-piglet)
- **puller** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pellet-vs-puller)
- **pell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pell-vs-pellet)
- **Pele** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pele-vs-pellet)
- **peeled** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peeled-vs-pellet)
- **pallet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pallet-vs-pellet)

## Common misspellings (7)
`epllet`, `pelelt`, `pelet`, `pellett`, `pellte`, `plelet`, `ppellet`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pellet