Palate, Palette, and Pallet (The Difference)

The Quick Answer
What is the difference between palate, palette, and pallet?
  • Palate is the roof of a mouth.
  • Palette is the board where artists mix their paint.
  • Pallet is a flat platform for loading goods.
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Palate, Palette, and Pallet

The words palate, palette, and pallet sound similar, but their meanings are very different.

palate palette pallet

Palate

The noun palate is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. The flavor of a food (particularly beer or wine) is sometimes referred to as a palate (e.g., a fruity palate).

Examples:
  • If you're able to taste slight nuances in food, then you have a well-developed palate.
  • In reality, there are no taste sensors on the palate.

Palette

The noun palette is a flat board on which a painter arranges and mixes paints.

Examples:
  • On an artist's palette, there is one colour which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love. (Marc Chagall)
  • You seem to have a lot of red on your palette. Are you planning to shoot the model?

Pallet

The noun palett is a flat wooden structure that supports goods. A palett is typically made of wood and designed to be lifted by forklift trucks.

Examples:
  • Loads with pallets under them can be hauled by forklift trucks or by pallet jacks.
  • Discarded wooden pallets cannot be used for firewood or crafts.

Common Terms with Palate, Palette, and Pallet

Here are some common terms featuring these words:

Palate
  • Palate cleanser
  • Palate ulcer
  • Palate of the mouth
  • Refined palate
  • Fruity palate
Palette
  • Palette knife
  • Artist's palette
  • Eyeshadow palette
  • Color palette
  • Palette painting
Pallet
  • Pallet delivery
  • Pallet storage
  • Pallet of bricks, cement, or blocks
  • Pallet recycling
  • Wooden pallet
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See Also

adverse or averse? affect or effect? appraise or apprise? avenge or revenge? bare or bear? complement or compliment? dependant or dependent? discreet or discrete? disinterested or uninterested? e.g. or i.e.? envy or jealousy? imply or infer? its or it's? material or materiel? poisonous or venomous? practice or practise? principal or principle? tenant or tenet? who's or whose?
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