nutshell

[nuht-shel]

noun

1. the shell of a nut.

nutshell

/ ˈnʌtˌʃɛl /

noun

1. the shell around the kernel of a nut

2. in essence; briefly

Word History and Origins

Origin of nutshell¹

1175–1225; Middle English nutescell; nut, shell

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in a nutshell, in very brief form; in a few words.

   Just tell me the story in a nutshell.

see in a nutshell.

Example Sentences

That right there kind of sums up my life in a nutshell.

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And there you have it: superlatives, in a nutshell.

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It means “I came, I saw, I conquered,” and Caesar meant it as a pithy description of a battle, which, in a nutshell, he won.

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In a nutshell it would see the demolition and rebuilding of the city's existing Arts centre, the refurbishment of the adjacent Town Hall and the linking of the two.

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That was the pitch in a nutshell: Home prices didn’t even need to fall.

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Related Words

• curtail 
• cut 
• cut down 
• diminish 
• dwindle 
• knock off 
• lessen 
• lower 
• pare 
• scale down 
• shorten 
• slash 
• trim 
• weaken