seashell
Americannoun
-
seashells
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of seashell
before 900; Old English sǣscill (not recorded in Middle English ) see sea, shell
Explanation
Many sea creatures live inside hard, protective cases called seashells. If you find a seashell on the beach, think of it as a tiny abandoned home of a sea creature. You can also call a seashell a shell, although "sea" distinguishes ocean shells from those of freshwater mollusks. If you've ever walked on a beach, you've seen seashells, and maybe even collected some to take home (after checking to make sure no tiny creatures were living inside). Clams, snails, and oysters are all examples of animals that live in seashells. One of the most famous mentions of this word appears in the tongue twister: "She sells seashells by the seashore." Try saying that ten times, fast!
Vocabulary lists containing seashell
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:
US Secret Service agents interviewed Comey last May about the seashell photo.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
On the store’s second floor, find the Sea & Shore Museum, which claims to be the world’s second-largest private seashell collection.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2023
Each nodule starts as a little fragment, perhaps a shark's tooth or a piece of seashell.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 15, 2023
And how can you know whether records you may have, such as an ancestor's journals or seashell collection, might be useful for science?
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2022
But she had already tossed the carpetbag that held her pen and paper, and so the seashell went over empty.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
First up was a short-sleeved button-up with blue stars and seashells, as well as red stripes made out of different fish.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
In a May 2025 Instagram post, Comey wrote, “cool shell formation on my beach walk,” under a photo of seashells arranged in the numbers “86 47.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
The video also showed Kim presenting Lukashenko with a large mosaic vase bearing a portrait of the Belarusian, with the North Korean leader appearing to explain that crafting it involved around 30 seashells.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
One pendant evokes the sea with its swirl of mother-of-pearl, spiral seashells and rivulets of pale gray leather arranged above a piece of bleached coral.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2025
Marie-Laure hesitates at the window in her stocking feet, her bedroom behind her, seashells arranged along the top of the armoire, pebbles along the baseboards.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
