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.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘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.’

  Synonyms

  ball, shot

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1Used in similes to refer to someone or something that moves very fast.
     ‘the ball sped across the grass like a bullet’
     More example sentences

     • ‘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.’
     Synonyms

     ball, shot

     View synonyms
  2. 1.2US (in sporting contexts) a very fast ball.
     ‘all afternoon, he threw bullets at the other team's batters’
     More example sentences

     • ‘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.’
     Synonyms

     ball, shot

     View synonyms
  3. 1.3the bulletinformal Dismissal from employment.
     More example sentences

     • ‘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.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘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’

  More example sentences

  • ‘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.’