I. pelt 1 /pelt/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: Origin unknown ]
1 . [transitive] to attack someone by throwing a lot of things at them
pelt somebody with something
The marchers were pelted with rocks and bottles.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] to be raining very heavily ⇨ pour :
Rain pelted the windows.
It’s pelting down out there.
the cold wind and pelting rain
3 . [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] informal to run somewhere very fast:
Three huge dogs came pelting into the street.
II. pelt 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Sense 1-2: Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: Perhaps from peltry 'skins, furs' (15-19 centuries) , from Anglo-French pelterie , from Latin pellis 'skin' ]
[ Sense 3: Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ pelt 1 ]
1 . the skin of a dead animal, especially with the fur or hair still on it ⇨ hide
2 . the fur or hair of a living animal
3 . (at) full pelt British English moving as fast as possible:
Nancy ran at full pelt to the school.