bul·let

(bo͝ol′ĭt)

a. A usually metal projectile in the shape of a pointed cylinder or a ball that is expelled from a firearm, especially a rifle or handgun.

b. Such a projectile in a metal casing; a cartridge.

2. An object resembling a projectile in shape, action, or effect.

3. Printing A heavy dot (·) used to highlight a particular passage.

[French boulette, diminutive of boule, ball, from Old French, from Latin bulla.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bullet

(ˈbʊlɪt)

1. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery)

a. a small metallic missile enclosed in a cartridge, used as the projectile of a gun, rifle, etc

b. the entire cartridge

2. something resembling a bullet, esp in shape or effect

3. (Stock Exchange) stock exchange a fixed interest security with a single maturity date

4. (Banking & Finance) commerce

a. the final repayment of a loan that repays the whole of the sum borrowed, as interim payments have been for interest only

b. (as modifier): a bullet loan.

5. (Industrial Relations & HR Terms) slang Brit dismissal, sometimes without notice (esp in the phrases get or give the bullet)

6. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) printing See centred dot

7. bite the bullet See bite¹⁴

[C16: from French boulette, diminutive of boule ball; see bowl²]

ˈbullet-ˌlike adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bul•let

(ˈbʊl ɪt)
n.

1. a small metal projectile, part of a cartridge, for firing from small arms.

2. a cartridge.

3. something resembling a bullet, as in shape or speed.

4. a heavy dot for calling attention to particular sections of text.

Idioms:

bite the bullet, to force oneself to perform a painful, difficult task or to endure an unpleasant situation.

[1550–60; < Middle French boullette, derivative of boulle ball; see bowl²]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	bullet - a projectile that is fired from a gun slug cartridge - ammunition consisting of a cylindrical casing containing an explosive charge and a bullet; fired from a rifle or handgun dumdum, dumdum bullet - a soft-nosed small-arms bullet that expands when it hits a target and causes a gaping wound full metal jacket - a lead bullet that is covered with a jacket of a harder metal (usually copper) projectile, missile - a weapon that is forcibly thrown or projected at a targets but is not self-propelled rifle ball - a bullet designed to be fired from a rifle; no longer made spherical in shape rubber bullet - a bullet made of hard rubber; designed for use in crowd control
	2.	bullet - a high-speed passenger train bullet train passenger train - a train that carries passengers
	3.	bullet - (baseball) a pitch thrown with maximum velocity; "he swung late on the fastball"; "he showed batters nothing but smoke" fastball, heater, hummer, smoke pitch, delivery - (baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter slider - a fastball that curves slightly away from the side from which it was thrown baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League ball in the area"; "play ball!"

bullet

noun projectile, ball, shot, missile, slug, pellet There are three bullet holes in the windscreen.

Related words
like ballistomania

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

رَصاصَةرَصاصَه

kulkaodrážka

kugleprojektil

Kugel Aufzählungszeichen Gewehrkugel

σφαίρα

bala proyectil

kuul

luotiammuskuula

balle puceremboursement in fine

metak

lövedék

byssukúlakúlaskot

pallottola proiettile pallino

弾丸

총알

kulkaneperšaunama liemenėneperšaunamas

lode

glonţglonte

krogla

kula

กระสุน

kurşun fişek

viên đạn

子弹枪弹

bullet

[ˈbʊlɪt]

A. N → bala f
to go by like a bullet → pasar como (una) bala or un rayo
to bite the bullet → enfrentarse al toro

B. CPD bullet hole N → agujero m de bala
bullet train N → tren m de gran velocidad (japonés)
bullet wound N → balazo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

bullet

[ˈbʊlɪt] n → balle f (de fusil)
to bite the bullet (JOURNALISM) → serrer les dentsbullet hole n → impact m de balle

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

bullet

→ Kugel f; to bite the bullet → in den sauren Apfel beißen (inf); to get or be given the bullet (inf) → gefeuert werden (inf)

(Typ, in list) → Aufzählungszeichen nt, (Comput also) → Gliederungspunkt m

bullet

bullet head

n (pej) → Dickkopf m

bullet-headed

adj → rundköpfig

bullet hole

n → Einschuss (→ loch nt) m

bullet

bulletproof

adj → kugelsicher

vt → kugelsicher machen

bullet train

n (japanischer) → Superexpress

bullet wound

n → Schusswunde or -verletzung f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

bullet

[ˈbʊlɪt] n → proiettile m, pallottola

bullet

(ˈbulit) noun

a piece of metal etc fired from certain hand guns. He was killed by machine-gun bullets.

ˈbulletproof

ajdective that can stop bullets from penetrating it.

bulletproof vest noun

a sleeveless jacket for protecting the body from bullets.

bullet

→ رَصاصَة kulka kugle Kugel σφαίρα bala luoti balle metak pallottola 弾丸 총알 kogel kule pocisk bala пуля kula กระสุน kurşun viên đạn 子弹

bullet

n. bala;

___ wound → balazo, herida de ___.

bullet

n bala

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

It was but a short time after that that Tudor tried the same trick on him, the bullets pattering about him like spiteful rain, thudding into the palm trunks, or glancing off in whining ricochets.

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Still his bullets fell in the center of the crouching party.

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"There, you see!" and he drew attention to the bullets whistling, singing, and hissing continually around them.

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De Smith-Pocahontases ain't 'fraid o' nothin', let alone bullets."

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They forestalled us by ambushing Neil and Nicholas and taking them prisoners, while, as of old, bullets whistled about our ears when Charley and I attempted to take possession of the nets.

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The pulse of war that beat from the West suggested the companionship of battling thousands; here was naught but silence, and himself, and possible death-dealing bullets from a myriad ambushes.

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The best I could hope to ac-complish was to divert the thing from the girl to myself and then to place as many bullets as possible in it before it reached and mauled me into insensibility and death.

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"He show'd me his private mark, himself, and boasted of the number of deer he had laid upon the prairies with these very bullets! Now, Ishmael, will you believe me when I tell you the old knave is a spy of the red-skins?"

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Bullets began to whistle among the branches and nip at the trees.

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The man, though he was evidently wounded by our bullets, was now twenty yards ahead of us.

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I cried to Delcarte not to fire until we reached his side, for I was fearful lest our small caliber, steel-jacketed bullets should, far from killing the beast, tend merely to enrage it still further.

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It seemed as if I had hardly closed my eyes, though in fact it was near midday, when I was awakened by the report of a rifle, the bullet striking the bowlder just above my body.

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