bullet

American  

[bool-it] / ˈbʊl ɪt /

noun

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

2. a cartridge.

3. a small ball.

4. Printing. a heavy dot for marking paragraphs or otherwise calling attention to or itemizing particular sections of text, especially in display advertising.

5. Cards. an ace.

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verb (used without object)

bulleted, bulleting

1. to move swiftly.

idioms

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

   We'll just have to bite the bullet and pay higher taxes.

bullet British  

/ ˈbʊlɪt /

noun

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

   2. the entire cartridge

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

3. stock exchange a fixed interest security with a single maturity date

4. commerce a security that offers a fixed interest and matures on a fixed date

5. commerce

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

   2. ( as modifier )

      a bullet loan

6. slang dismissal, sometimes without notice (esp in the phrases get or give the bullet )

7. printing See centred dot

8. See bite

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bullet More Idioms  

1. see bite the bullet; sweat bullets.

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Other Word Forms

• bullet-like adjective
• bulletless adjective
• bulletlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of bullet

1550–60; < Middle French boullette, equivalent to boulle ball ( see bowl ²) + -ette -ette

Explanation

A bullet is the metal object that is fired out of a gun when its trigger is pulled. Without bullets, a gun is harmless. If someone talks about ammunition for a gun, they're talking about bullets. A bullet doesn't usually contain explosives but does its damage by penetrating whatever — or whomever — it hits. The Middle French source of bullet is boulette, "cannonball" or "small ball," from boule, "a ball," with its Latin root bulla, "round thing." To "bite the bullet" means to withstand an unpleasant but necessary situation, from the (possibly fictitious) practice of patients biting bullets during painful operations.

Example Sentences

Svetnoy has said the bullet whizzed past his head and “narrowly missed him,” according to the gaffer’s suit.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

“It’s not a silver bullet but several pieces of silver buckshot,” said John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Booking.com previously said it was implementing new safety features but there was "no silver bullet".

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

"I don't know if there were jihadists at the market. We are just ordinary people," Mala Garba, 42, told AFP from a hospital in Borno state capital Maiduguri while recovering from bullet wounds.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

Agnew and Hamilton knew from their years practicing military surgery that the human body often encases a bullet in a cyst, or sac, making it harmless.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• ammunition
• ball
• cartridge
• pellet
• projectile
• rocket
• round
• shot
• slug