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• shell
  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.
• she'll
  she'll

  contraction of she will.

shell

¹ American  

[shel] / ʃɛl /

noun

• shells
  plural

1. a hard outer covering of an animal, as the hard case of a mollusk, or either half of the case of a bivalve mollusk.

2. any of various objects resembling such a covering, as in shape or in being more or less concave or hollow.

3. the material constituting any of various coverings of this kind.

4. the hard exterior of an egg.

5. the usually hard, outer covering of a seed, fruit, or the like, as the hard outside portion of a nut, the pod of peas, etc.

6. a hard, protecting or enclosing case or cover.

7. an attitude or manner of reserve that usually conceals one's emotions, thoughts, etc..

   One could not penetrate his shell.

8. a hollow projectile for a cannon, mortar, etc., filled with an explosive charge designed to explode during flight, upon impact, or after penetration.

9. a metallic cartridge used in small arms and small artillery pieces.

10. a metal or paper cartridge, as for use in a shotgun.

11. a cartridgelike pyrotechnic device that explodes in the air.

12. Italian Cooking. shells, small pieces of pasta having the shape of a shell.

13. the lower pastry crust of a pie, tart, or the like, baked before the filling is added.

14. Computers. a program providing a menu-driven or graphical user interface designed to simplify use of the operating system, as in loading application programs.

15. Physics.

    1. any of up to seven energy levels on which an electron may exist within an atom, the energies of the electrons on the same level being equal and on different levels being unequal.

    2. a group of nucleons of approximately the same energy.

16. a light, long, narrow racing boat, for rowing by one or more persons.

17. the outer part of a finished garment that has a lining, especially a detachable lining.

18. a woman's sleeveless blouse or sweater, especially one meant for wear under a suit jacket.

19. Nautical. the plating, planking, or the like, covering the ribs and forming the exterior hull of a vessel.

20. tortoiseshell.

21. a mollusk.

22. Engineering. the curved solid forming a dome or vault.

23. an arena or stadium covered by a domed or arched roof.

24. a saucer-shaped arena or stadium.

25. the framework, external structure, or walls and roof of a building.

    After the fire, only the shell of the school was left.

26. a small glass for beer.

27. the metal, pressure-resistant outer casing of a fire-tube boiler.

28. Metallurgy.

    1. a scab on the surface of an ingot.

    2. a length of unfinished tubing.

    3. a pierced forging.

    4. a hollow object made by deep drawing.

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verb (used with object)

• shells,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shelled,
  past participle,  past
• shelling
  present participle

1. to take out of the shell, pod, etc.; remove the shell of.

2. to separate (Indian corn, grain, etc.) from the ear, cob, or husk.

3. to fire shells or explosive projectiles into, upon, or among; bombard.

verb (used without object)

• shells,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shelled,
  past participle,  past
• shelling
  present participle

1. to fall or come out of the shell, husk, etc.

2. to come away or fall off, as a shell or outer coat.

3. to gather sea shells.

   We spent the whole morning shelling while the tide was out.

verb phrase

1. shell out to hand over (money); contribute; pay.

she'll ² American  

[sheel, shil] / ʃil, ʃɪl /

1. contraction of she will.

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shell ¹ British  

/ ʃɛl /

noun

1. the protective calcareous or membranous outer layer of an egg, esp a bird's egg

2. the hard outer covering of many molluscs that is secreted by the mantle

3. any other hard outer layer, such as the exoskeleton of many arthropods

4. the hard outer layer of some fruits, esp of nuts

5. any hard outer case

6. a hollow artillery projectile filled with explosive primed to explode either during flight, on impact, or after penetration Compare ball 1

7. a small-arms cartridge comprising a hollow casing inside which is the primer, charge, and bullet

8. a pyrotechnic cartridge designed to explode in the air

9. rowing a very light narrow racing boat

10. the external structure of a building, esp one that is unfinished or one that has been gutted by fire

11. the basic structural case of something, such as a machine, vehicle, etc

12. physics

    1. a class of electron orbits in an atom in which the electrons have the same principal quantum number and orbital angular momentum quantum number and differences in their energy are small compared with differences in energy between shells

    2. an analogous energy state of nucleons in certain theories ( shell models ) of the structure of the atomic nucleus

13. the pastry case of a pie, flan, etc

14. a thin slab of concrete or a skeletal framework made of wood or metal that forms a shell-like roof

15. (in some schools) a class or form

16. to become less shy and reserved

17. to help to become less shy and reserved

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verb

1. to divest or be divested of a shell, husk, pod, etc

2. to separate or be separated from an ear, husk, cob, etc

3. (tr) to bombard with artillery shells

she'll ² British  

/ ʃiːl, ʃɪl /

contraction

1. she will or she shall

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shell Scientific  

/ shĕl /

1. 1. The usually hard outer covering of certain animals, such as mollusks, insects, and turtles.

   2. The hard outer covering of a bird's egg.

   3. The hard outer covering of a seed, nut, or fruit.

2. 1. A set of electron orbitals that have nearly the same energy. Electrons in outer shells have greater energy than those in shells closer to the nucleus. Elements in the Periodic Table range from the lightest elements with electrons normally occupying one shell (hydrogen and helium) to the heaviest, with electrons in seven shells (radium and uranium, for instance).

   2. Any of the stable states of other particles or collections of particles (such as the nucleons in an atomic nucleus) at a given energy or small range of energies.

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shell Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing shell

• in one's shell

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Usage

See contraction.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• de-shell
  verb (used with object)
• shell-less
  adjective
• shell-like
  adjective
• shelly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• shells
  plural

Participles

• shelling
  present
• shelled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• shell
  simple
• shells
  simple
• have shelled
  perfect
• has shelled
  perfect
• am shelling
  progressive
• are shelling
  progressive
• is shelling
  progressive
• have been shelling
  perfect progressive
• has been shelling
  perfect progressive

Past

• shelled
  simple
• had shelled
  perfect
• was shelling
  progressive
• were shelling
  progressive
• had been shelling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will shell
  simple
• will have shelled
  perfect
• will be shelling
  progressive
• will have been shelling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of shell

before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English scell (north), sciell; cognate with Dutch schil peel, skin, rink, Old Norse skel shell, Gothic skalja tile; (v.) derivative of the noun; cf. shale

Explanation

A hard surface that covers an animal is its shell. Sea urchins, turtles, and lobsters all have protective shells. The largest turtle shell is nearly 10 feet wide! Most shells are made of calcium carbonate, and they grow along with the animal. Bird embryos are nestled inside shells, and nuts have shells too. Other uses for shell come from the biological meaning. A rifle shell has a shell-like metal casing. An empty structure, with only walls, is the shell of a building. And to "come out of your shell," means to emerge, like a turtle, from your shyness.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shell she'll shells shelled shelling

“By remaining behind civilians, it makes it easier for them to shell our side of the river. They don’t even feed them—we send food ourselves, and risk losing drones.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

According to the case file seen by AFP, their consortium used shell companies and Albanian and foreign nationals, notably Dutch and Italian, to conceal the identity of the real owners of the concessions.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

The new law further develops criteria to help show an LLC as a shell company involved in a potential tax evasion scheme.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Mississippian potters of the period commonly mixed crushed freshwater shell or fragments of older pottery, known as grog, into their clay.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

Velia slid back into her seat like a turtle trying to get back in its shell.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

ANN SIOCHI, a West Virginia resident, still plans on visiting Aspen next summer, during the closure, though she’ll be driving almost four hours from Denver International Airport to get there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

“Happy she gets to take that next step. I know what it means to her. I’m glad her last year was pivotal for the CBA and she’ll always have her name written on that.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Her aunt has converted $600 into worthless Iraqi dinars and Zimbabwean dollars that she thinks she’ll be able to use to get access to the technology when it becomes available.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

Mia says she'll add chilli oil if she's feeling fancy.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

If I let her speak, she’ll screw this up.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

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

Without shells, bones or other hard structures, they would have been far less likely to survive the fossilization process than many later animals.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

And on Thursday, North Korean state media reported test-fires of shells for an updated 240mm multiple-rocket-launcher system with unmanned “pinpoint” guidance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

“I love that you included the golden ratio and the shells on the beach with the holes in them,” Ms. Solomon said about the moon snail.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

At what point should I bite the bullet and just accept less than what I shelled out?

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

Arsenal shelled out close to £200m on new signings during the summer transfer window but fell short of landing the elite forward they craved.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

Four months later, Meta’s Zuckerberg shelled out a record-shattering $170 million to purchase the in-progress fortress.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Fox paid $485 million for the rights to the 2026 World Cup, while Telemundo shelled out $600 million for the Spanish-language telecasts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

A tortoise was shelled with a green and orange gourd.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

Daft as a Brush, which provides cancer patients with transport to their hospital appointments, said it was shelling out £15,000 a month on diesel - £5,000 more than last year.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Gulf oil producers are shelling out between $30 million and $40 million for a round trip shuttle run in and out of Hormuz—or $15 to $20 a barrel, according to shipbrokers, before insurance costs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

For much of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Daria was not afraid of the shelling.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Instead of shelling out at least $1,999 up front, Duo buyers can lease their foldable for $57.99 a month across a two-year schedule, or $82.99 a month across 12 months.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Tidbit jumped at the opportunity to stop shelling peas and motioned to the girls to hurry before Teenie changed her mind.

From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper