Loss of the sound of "r" after a vowel and before a consonant in the middle of a word is common in spoken English. This linguistic idiosyncrasy has given the language a few new words, including cuss from curse, bust from burst, and passel from parcel.
reporters had a whole passel of questions for the new basketball coach
the young couple helped a passel of students in the span of a few years
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Two Russian space weather satellites are on their way to orbit, along with an Iranian spacecraft and a passel of cubesats.—Mike Wall, Space.com, 25 July 2025 The first full week of July has a passel of content for all kinds of audiences, including a teen party out of control documentary and some cool-looking original films.—PC Magazine, 4 July 2025 Wine and beverage director Aldo Sohm (who is partner in his namesake wine bar across the breezeway) has a passel of sommeliers who are intent on finding you the right bottle for your taste and budget from an extraordinary wine list.—John Mariani, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025 Returning shows including Severance and Abbott Elementary shined with stellar seasons, while a passel of new series like The Pitt got our hearts racing.—EW.com, 25 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for passel
Share