pellet
noun /ˈpelɪt/
/ˈpelɪt/
- a small hard ball of any substance, often of soft material that has become hard
- food pellets for chickens
- owl pellets (= the dried waste material from owls)
- slug pellets (= to kill slugs)
- a very small metal ball that is fired from a gun
- The cat had been hit by an airgun pellet.
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French pelote ‘metal ball’, from a diminutive of Latin pila ‘ball’.