TOP

Definition of bullet noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

bullet

noun
 
 
/ˈbʊlɪt/
 
/ˈbʊlɪt/
Idioms
jump to other results
  1. a small metal object that is fired from a gun
    • He was found to have a single bullet wound in his chest.
    • There were bullet holes in the door.
    • He was killed by a bullet in the head.
    • A soldier fired live bullets into the crowd.
    • The mirror had been broken by bullets from a gun.
    • An assassin's bullet killed Martin Luther King Jr.
    see also magic bullet, plastic bullet, rubber bullet, silver bullet
    Extra Examples
    • A stray bullet whistled past his ear.
    • He got a bullet in the back.
    • He was killed by a single bullet to the head.
    • I would have taken a bullet for Jack.
    • It is a bullet from the same gun that killed the Italian.
    • She was shot through the head by a sniper's bullet.
    • Surgeons are trying to remove a bullet lodged near his spine.
    • The body was riddled with bullets.
    • The bullet missed his heart by less than an inch.
    • The bullets ricocheted off the stones.
    • The embassy was sprayed with bullets.
    • The second bullet hit her in the back.
    • They died in a hail of bullets.
    • They had put a bullet through his brain.
    Topics War and conflictb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • speeding
    • stray
    • single
    • …
    verb + bullet
    • dodge
    • fire
    • spray something with
    • …
    bullet + verb
    • hit somebody/​something
    • pierce somebody/​something
    • shoot somebody
    • …
    bullet + noun
    • hole
    • wound
    • scar
    • …
    preposition
    • bullet from
    • bullet in
    • bullet through
    • …
    phrases
    • a hail of bullets
    • a volley of bullets
    • take a bullet (for somebody)
    • …
    See full entry
    Word Originearly 16th cent. (denoting a cannonball): from French boulet, boulette ‘small ball’, diminutive of boule, from Latin bulla ‘bubble’.
Idioms
bite the bullet
  1. (informal) to start to deal with an unpleasant or difficult situation which cannot be avoided
    • I wasn’t happy with the way my career was going so I decided to bite the bullet and look for another job.
dodge a/the bullet | dodge bullets
  1. (especially US English, informal) to only just avoid getting hurt in a dangerous situation
    • South Texas dodged a bullet with no direct hit from Hurricane Emily.
    Topics Successc2
See bullet in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee bullet in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: bullet

Nearby words

sufficiently
adverb
 
 
From the Word list
OPAL written words
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day