to pelt down
1
7.2
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
correr
- She is pelting down the long corridor, back the way she came.
- rain pelted down
Examples
-
Janet took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and ran again, pelting down the sidewalk, over the bridge, past the hollow willow, and up the hill alongside Eliot, until she came to a door, which she yanked open and bolted through.
Fiction book (1991) -
He ran for the mare, which reared again to dislodge the shrieking eagle and then pelted down the road.
Fiction book (1993) -
Rain began to pelt down, and very suddenly, it
Fiction book (1990) -
Rain is pelting down outside.
Fiction book (1994) -
The three of them pelt down the stairwell to the sound of the door smashing above them.
Fiction book (1996) -
It pelted down, poured, and poured over their little bodies.
Blog text (13) -
The rain pelted down in torrents at night, beating up on parked cars and For Sale signs on front lawns as if there were vengefulness in the sky.
Fiction book (1990) -
She is pelting down the long corridor, back the way she came.
-
The three of them pelt down the stairwell to the sound of the door smashing above them.
-
Janet took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and ran again, pelting down the sidewalk, over the bridge, past the hollow willow, and up the hill alongside Eliot.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To move a boat fast in the same direction as the wind
69
2.3
To run away suddenly to escape danger
55
2.1
A short, very fast run over a small distance
38
1.6
A short, fast run to reach something
35
5.2
To hurry and go faster, often when driving
19
6.8
To move very fast and with great force like a train or meteor
18
8.3
To leave a place very quickly to escape danger or trouble
17
8.0
Press the gas pedal all the way to make the car go very fast
5
8.0
To leave a place very quickly to avoid danger or trouble
2
6.7
Move quickly and without control down a hill or road
2
9.0
To leave quickly to escape or avoid something
1
7.7
To move quickly on foot
1
9.0
Move quickly on foot to escape or reach a place fast
1
2.7
To move quickly in one direction
1
6.8
To move very fast and out of control toward something, often causing harm
1
6.1
Run away quickly to escape danger or trouble
Move very fast along a street or path
To move very quickly in a straight, forceful way
To move suddenly and fast in one direction
To move very fast with great energy
To move very quickly, usually by running or driving
To run away quickly, usually because you are afraid
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'pelt' as 'to fall heavily' (of rain) or 'to throw repeatedly' and 'down' as lower/movement would not predict the sense 'to run/move very quickly'; the sense here is a dialectal/metaphorical extension of 'pelt' and is not compositionally transparent. This idiomatic usage is not regularly predictable from the constituents and is therefore opaque to learners without prior exposure.
Etymology
Pelt down may come from the old use of pelt meaning 'to throw' or 'to strike'. Imagine stones or heavy rain 'pelting down' a slope and hitting fast and hard, so when someone pelted down the stairs it gives the picture of them 'move very quickly'.