shell company
Britishnoun
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a near-defunct company, esp one with a stock-exchange listing, used as a vehicle for a thriving company
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a company that has ceased to trade but retains its registration and is sold for a small sum to enable its new owners to avoid the cost and trouble of registering a new company
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.
All would-be entrants had to do was set up a shell company and then apply for access to the registry, which was normally given.
From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026
Investigators also identified a shell company possibly used to launder the advertising revenue, which totaled to around $6.2 million, and an investment of $200,000 in cryptocurrency.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025
A couple hours down the coast, Ellen DeGeneres and mining tycoon Robert Friedland — more specifically, a shell company linked to Friedland — engaged in a high-end home swap in Santa Barbara.
From Salon • Dec. 28, 2024
According to the indictments against the Cuellars, the Azerbaijan energy company initially made the payments through a Texas-based shell company owned by Imelda Cuellar and two of the couple’s children.
From Seattle Times • May 13, 2024
So he allegedly directed his longtime fixer Michael Cohen to pay off Daniels, through a shell company, for her silence.
From Slate • Apr. 14, 2024
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.
