pelt
pelt Lexical Profile
pelt Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To attack or strike someone or something repeatedly with thrown objects or questions.
"The children laughed as they pelted each other with snowballs in the park."
To fall heavily and rapidly (of rain, hail, or snow).
"Freezing rain pelted against the windowpanes throughout the night."
To run or hurry somewhere very quickly.
"We pelted down the hill to catch the last ferry before it departed."
• noun
The skin of a mammal with the fur, wool, or hair still on it, or an untanned hide stripped of its hair prior to tanning.
"Early trappers traded beaver pelts for essential supplies at the frontier outpost."
A rapid pace or high speed, used almost exclusively in the phrase 'at full pelt'.
"The dog came bounding across the meadow at full pelt to greet its owner."
• Rhymes for pelt
Word Origin & Etymology
The noun meaning 'animal skin' dates to Middle English, shortened from peltry (from Old French peleterie, ultimately from Latin pellis, 'skin'). The verb meaning 'to strike repeatedly' emerged separately in the 15th century, likely of imitative origin or related to Latin pultare ('to beat or knock').