nurdle

present singular third person nurdles · participle present nurdling · participle past nurdled · past nurdled

1. ball gamesTo score runs by gently nudging the ball into vacant areas of the field.
2. conversationTo gently waffle or muse on a subject which one clearly knows little about.

plural nurdles

1. ball gamesSuch a shot.
2. A cylindrical pre-production plastic pellet used in manufacturing and packaging.

   Puffins on the Isle of May are nibbling on nurdles, the little nuggets that serve as raw materials for plastics manufacturing.

   2015 March 27, Amanda Schupak, “Plastic pellets found in puffin tummies”, in CBS News

   1 more example

   Researchers analysed samples of nurdles and burnt lumps of plastic from four Sri Lankan beaches for heavy metals and various chemicals, including benzotriazole UV-stabilisers, which are used to prevent discoloration in plastics, bisphenols and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

   2022 February 9, Karen McVeigh, “‘Oil spills of our time’: experts sound alarm about plastic lost in cargo ship disasters”, in The Guardian, Guardian Media Group, retrieved 11 Feb 2022, Seascape: the state of our oceans

3. A blob of toothpaste shaped like a wave, often depicted on toothpaste packaging.

   Each company is seeking the right to depict, and to stop the other from depicting, a “nurdle,” a wave-shaped toothpaste blob that sits on a toothbrush head.

   2010 July 29, Jonathan Stempel, “Colgate, Glaxo sue over toothpaste "nurdle"”, in Reuters