shell
noun
a hard outer covering of an animal, as the hard case of a mollusk, or either half of the case of a bivalve mollusk.
shells
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pluralof shell.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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present tense formof shell (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
shellnouna hard outer covering of an animal, as the hard case of a mollusk, or either half of the case of a bivalve mollusk.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
More than a dozen police personnel were deployed at each of the container checkpoints, equipped with protective shields, batons and tear gas shells.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
This type of aquaculture also has a low carbon footprint and the shells function as a form of carbon capture, according to a 2020 paper by the scientific journal Nature Food.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Both are small, with cone-shaped shells measuring about 6 mm in length, and they live on limestone rocks where they feed on algae and lichens.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
Rheinmetall has been making ammo since before World War I, and presumably its factories produced their fair share of the shells still lurking in Germany’s soil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
He fired off two cracker shells in a row, and Nanuq dropped back down on all fours.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
