eggshell
Americannoun
-
the shell of a bird's egg, consisting of keratin fibers and calcite crystals.
-
a pale yellowish-white color.
-
rather bulky paper having a slightly rough finish.
adjective
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like an eggshell, as in thinness and delicacy; very brittle; fragile.
-
being pale yellowish-white in color.
-
having little or no gloss.
eggshell white paint.
noun
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the hard porous protective outer layer of a bird's egg, consisting of calcite and protein
-
a yellowish-white colour
-
a type of paper with a slightly rough finish
-
(modifier) (of paint) having a very slight sheen
an eggshell finish
-
to be very cautious or diplomatic for fear of upsetting someone
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of eggshell
First recorded in 1250–1300, eggshell is from the Middle English word ayschelle. See egg 1, shell
Vocabulary lists containing eggshell
Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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White
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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.
See Examples For:
Like the large so-called moon jar that opens the exhibition, these capacious bowls glazed in eggshell white flaunt their foibles with wobbling edges that give character to otherwise pure forms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
On Friday, observers spotted what appeared to be a pip — or breach in the eggshell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
A report from 2007 said it was feasible for influenza viruses to enter through the eggshell.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2024
To reach these conclusions, the team collected tens of thousands of eggshell fragments from sites located along the main Central Asian corridor of the Silk Road.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2024
His voice crackles softly, like the peeling of an eggshell, and Lourdes has to stand perfectly still to hear his words.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Fossilized dinosaur eggshells included in the study, for example, continued to show detectable statistical patterns connected to ancient biological activity.
From Science Daily ● May 12, 2026
A close friend of Vance who spoke with him recently said he described feeling like he was sometimes walking on eggshells around Trump because of his antiwar views.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Curiously, DDT did not kill the birds outright, but rather caused their eggshells to collapse under the weight of the incubating adults.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026
On the United States, he's walking on eggshells.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
Because I was done with the secrets and the quiet and the walking on eggshells.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
