Bullet
/ˈbʊlɪt/
Definitions
2 meaningsA small, cylindrical projectile fired from a gun.
/ˈbʊlɪt/
A small metal projectile fired from a firearm.
The bullet pierced the target.
💡 Simply: A metal ball shot from a gun.
More Examples
He dodged the bullet.
How It's Used
"The soldier fired a bullet from his rifle."
"The detective found a bullet casing at the crime scene."
A small, round symbol (•) used to introduce items in a list.
/ˈbʊlɪt/
A small, round mark used in typing or printing.
The presentation slides used bulleted points for clarity.
💡 Simply: A little dot in a list.
More Examples
I made a bulleted list of groceries to buy.
How It's Used
"The document was formatted using bulleted lists."
Idioms & expressions
bite the bullet
To face a difficult or unpleasant situation with courage and stoicism.
"He had to bite the bullet and tell her the bad news."
From Middle English *bule, from Old French *bule, diminutive of *boule "ball".
The use of 'bullet' as a small, round mark in writing is a relatively recent development, tied to the rise of word processing and digital documents.
Memory tip
Think of a 'bull' charging – a bullet is similarly forceful and fast.