Meaning of bullet in English:
bullet
See synonyms for bulletTranslate bullet into Spanish
noun
1A metal projectile for firing from a rifle, revolver, or other small firearm, typically cylindrical and pointed, and sometimes containing an explosive.
‘She said authorities also found in the car automatic rifles, bullet cartridges, plastic explosives and other materials.’- ‘What I didn't know at the time was that these rifles fired bullets of the alkali metal potassium at the rate of three thousand rounds per minute.’
- ‘Among the ammunition were shotgun cartridges and dum-dum bullets.’
- ‘However, in the hail of bullets and recoilless rifle fire, over fifty hostages had been killed.’
- ‘Licensed gun holders may not load their firearms with bullets until they are in the firing range, Arroyo said.’
- ‘Propellants are the explosives used to fire bullets and shells at enemy targets.’
- ‘That way the hard barrel compresses the relatively soft metal of the bullet as the exploding gunpowder hurls the projectile down the barrel.’
- ‘We found an old rifle, bullet shells and homemade bombs.’
- ‘The howitzer's armor gives protection against armor-piercing bullets and projectiles.’
- ‘For example, the assault rifle fires bullet bursts as a primary fire, and launches grenades for secondary.’
- ‘After a thorough search, officers found six firearms and 2,790 bullets.’
- ‘In fact, even a rifle bullet fired north or south does not appear to curve.’
- ‘There were threats of revenge, retaliation, missiles bombs and bullets.’
- ‘One held a revolver full of deadly bullets, the other a quiver full of deadly arrows.’
- ‘She believes locals who said the weapon was a walking stick converted to fire bullets or an antique rifle which had a larger barrel.’
- ‘The external pane needs to withstand the kind of battering any object in orbit can expect: tiny objects at orbital speed are more energetic than a bullet fired from a rifle.’
- ‘And Lee fired the bullet out of her rifle, right after mumbling some annoyed incoherencies.’
- ‘When we got out, cops herded us up the street, shooting people in the back with rubber bullets and beanbag bullets.’
- ‘Absent-mindedly, I loaded my revolver with bullets and fastened the gun onto my belt.’
- ‘Another sharp report split the night, and the second bullet from a sniper rifle ricocheted off the pavement to my immediate right.’
ball, shotView synonyms- 1.1Used in similes to refer to someone or something that moves very fast.‘the ball sped across the grass like a bullet’
- ‘It's moving like a bullet, but it slows down fast; goes from sixty to zero, to reverse the old saying.’
- ‘This report shows an economy that has not only turned around - it's moving forward like a bullet.’
- ‘Lin was right, they didn't move slowly; Penny ran as fast as a bullet across the land just as the sun was beginning to set.’
- ‘And I should be able to run faster than a speeding bullet.’
- ‘I'm already faster than a speeding bullet, or so Tracy says.’
- ‘I can type as fast as a speeding bullet and then some.’
- ‘They came to learn about the plane that could fly faster than a bullet, faster than the earth rotated.’
- ‘I'm still on a dial-up connection which is not faster than a speeding bullet, so I've gotta run here.’
- ‘Yet with Simon Kinberg's sharp script to guide them, the banter comes as thick and fast as the bullets - and is equally explosive.’
- ‘He's the human bullet and now he reigns supreme in the fastest sport on the planet.’
- ‘It was fast and moved, like as if it were a speeding bullet.’
- ‘It will change it's settings and objectives a thousand times a second, and it will move through our system like a bullet from a gun.’
- ‘Like a bullet I thrust myself in a straight angle moving through ceilings, floors, ceilings and a wall.’
- ‘Who is able to jump off the bench faster than a speeding bullet?’
- ‘With that said, the figure shot out at the devil as fast as a bullet.’
- ‘In addition to being the better leaper and all-around athlete, Moss is the league's top bullet in a league thirsting for speed.’
- ‘Their passes were like bullets, so fast and powerful, so well planned, that I found it hard to keep up.’
- ‘My mind was racing faster than a bullet, but I didn't bother to stop to think about anything.’
- ‘I jumped up and high tailed it out of there faster than a speeding bullet, grabbing Melanie's hand and dragging her away with me.’
- ‘As he thought, he swung his arm around fast as a speeding bullet.’
ball, shotView synonyms - 1.2US (in sporting contexts) a very fast ball.‘all afternoon, he threw bullets at the other team's batters’
- ‘Carr, seeing Johnson streaking down the right sideline wide open, threw a low bullet.’
- ‘Against Washington, Johnson threw a bullet pass to the corner, hoping Anderson would be there.’
- ‘He hits bullets to all fields, knocks in runs and is in the race for the batting rifle.’
- ‘Sadly for Ajax, his bullet of a shot flies just over.’
ball, shotView synonyms - 1.3the bullet informal Dismissal from employment.
- ‘your record's bad, but it's doubtful they'll give you the bullet’
- ‘He could just not bring himself to confront an unwanted employee, face to face, and give him the bullet.’
- ‘After about eight months Meggy got the bullet and in October 1984 I was back in charge, this time not as mere caretaker.’
- ‘And listen, between you and me, it's very doubtful they'll give you the bullet.’
2Printing
A small symbol used to introduce each item in a list, for emphasis.‘Here's a bullet pointed list of how my trip went, because I realize I've been less than linear here.’- ‘A nice touch is the fact that the character cards are back printed with a sequence of bullets.’
- ‘These bullets lie within the padding or the margin of the list, depending on the browser.’
- ‘Bold important text, create subheadings for extremely important points and create more bullet lists where needed.’
- ‘It is arguable whether Bryant is really top five or top ten, but whatever, he's high on the charts with a bullet next to his name.’
- ‘Portis is the fourth-highest ranked running back and put a bullet next to his name.’
3A stick of lipstick (considered separately from the tube in which it is encased)
‘you can apply your lipstick straight from the bullet but I like to use a brush’- ‘Rub some color straight from the bullet of your lipstick onto your first two fingers, then gently pat it onto your cheekbones and tap to blend.’
- ‘Nars' convenient smear-proof pencil has a richly pigmented matte finish like a traditional bullet, but is also hydrating.’
- ‘You can see that the product stay true to the shade of the lipstick bullet even under the flash.’
- ‘In her tutorial, Zohra cuts a bullet of lipstick out of its tube before condensing it down and blending it with a face primer.’
- ‘Our new waterproof Full Throttle Lipstick covers your lips with super-saturated matte color and features a unique bullet with a beveled edge.’
- ‘Take the tube of lipstick that you want to clean, and turn it all the way up until the entire bullet is exposed.’
- ‘The black, monochromatic casing is uniquely studded and topped with her KVD monogram on the outer crown and bullet.’
- ‘Using the colored sticker on the bottom of a lipstick bullet to decide which colors you like or dislike is a big makeup shopping no-no.’
- ‘The lipstick bullets are carefully removed and either transferred straight into the lipstick cases or stored in trays.’
- ‘The labs supplied her with “fills”: bullets of lipstick, buttons of lip gloss, and plastic pans of eye shadow.’
Phrases
- dodge a bullet
Manage to avoid a difficult or unwelcome situation.
- ‘his side dodged a bullet as two last-gasp goals handed Rochdale a 3–2 win over Northampton’
- ‘His 2003 Tour victory was almost a loss - in his own words, he "dodged a bullet."’
- ‘Perhaps the Germans dodged a bullet by virtue of their refusal to compete.’
- ‘The President appears to have dodged a bullet in the investigation.’
- ‘I hadn't asked her out yet so I dodged a bullet.’
- ‘Though automakers have dodged a bullet, they may not be so lucky the next time.’
- ‘Residents here feel like they dodged a bullet even as the wind and the rain keeps pounding the island.’
- ‘He dodged a bullet with his Oct. 24 mistrial, but his troubles aren't over.’
- ‘The city's elites thought they had dodged a bullet by pulling some well-placed political strings within the state government.’
- ‘By first light there had been no reports of deaths or serious injuries, but the state's premier said it was "too early to talk about dodging a bullet".’
- ‘A dysfunctional Credit system once again dodges the bullet that would have forced the commencement of a long overdue and desperately needed adjustment.’
informal
Origin
Early 16th century (denoting a cannonball): from French boulet, boulette ‘small ball’, diminutive of boule, from Latin bulla ‘bubble’.
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