pallet

1 of 2

noun (1)

pal·​let ˈpa-lət 

1

: a portable platform for handling, storing, or moving materials and packages (as in warehouses, factories, or vehicles)

2

: a wooden flat-bladed instrument

3

: a lever or surface in a timepiece that receives an impulse from the escapement wheel and imparts motion to a balance or pendulum

pallet

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

: a straw-filled tick or mattress

2

: a small, hard, or temporary bed

Examples of pallet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

For example, Smith says the company is currently shipping Nvidia chips from Guadalajara up the west coast of the United States and pallets from John Deere to Europe. —Michael Del Castillo, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2024

Now that word is out, people have donated pallets of water to his door. —Joanna Allhands, The Arizona Republic, 5 Sep. 2024

The main cargo space is able to accommodate a 1.6-m-tall (5.25-ft) Euro pallet at up to 300 kg (660 lb), with the secondary space able to stack packages to a height of 1.2 m (4 ft) and weighing a total of 200 kg (440 lb). —New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2024

This tiny iridescent green insect, accidentally imported from Asia on pallets, is deadly to ash trees and will likely wipe out more than a billion of them before it’s done reproducing itself across the Northeast. —Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle French palette, literally, small shovel — more at palette

Noun (2)

Middle English paillet, from Anglo-French paillete bundle of straw, from paille straw, from Latin palea chaff, straw; akin to Sanskrit palāva chaff

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pallet

noun

pal·​let

ˈpal-ət

1

: a straw-filled mattress

2

: a small, hard, or temporary bed