nutshell
Americannoun
idioms
noun
-
the shell around the kernel of a nut
-
in essence; briefly
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of nutshell
Explanation
The hard, protective covering of a nut is called a nutshell. If you hear someone say "in a nutshell," they are most likely summing something up in a few words. It's more common to refer to a nutshell as simply a shell. Most people use the word nutshell figuratively. When you say, "in a nutshell," you mean "to sum it up," or "to condense a large amount of information into one short sentence." For example you might say, "In a nutshell, The Odyssey is the story of a guy who went on a long boat trip."
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:
The idea, in a nutshell, is to switch on the immune system and starve the cancer at the same time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
There, in a nutshell, is the dilemma around English identity: a mayor seeking to bring her community together but nervous that the nation's flag could be seen as divisive.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
In a nutshell: My son-in-law plays piano and doesn’t make much money.
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
The summit "in a nutshell, will be an opportunity to emphasise that Europe's security is a 360-degree challenge", said a senior EU official.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
As the Great Leader explained it: Establishing juche means, in a nutshell, being the master of revolution and reconstruction in one’s own country.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
Aymium CEO James Mennell said the company’s process works with all species of wood as well as agricultural residues, grasses, nutshells, cherry pits or any other lignocellulosic biomass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
"We've got loads of nutshells, oyster shells, bits of pipe, broken wine bottles and chicken bones."
From BBC ● May 16, 2025
Indigenous communities in the Southwest discovered and ate piñon nuts from the Pinus edulis tree many years before Europeans arrived, as evidenced by cracked nutshells found at archaeological sites.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2022
And whereas most nutshells include several kinds of cells, walnuts and pistachios only have one kind.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 10, 2021
Duke points to a trail of broken nutshells leading to the barn doors.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
