Synonyms

shell out

British

verb

informal (adverb) to pay out or hand over (money)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

shell out Idioms

Pay, hand over, as in We had to shell out $1,000 for auto repairs. This expression transfers taking a seed such as a pea or nut out of its pod or shell to taking money out of one's pocket. [Colloquial; c. 1800]

Etymology

Origin of shell out

C19: from _shell (in the sense: to remove from a pod or (figuratively) a purse)

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:

shell out

Still, most of us aren’t expected to shell out thousands to go to a get-together we know we’ll hate.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

Gen Z diners aren’t as likely to shell out $15 to $20 for a sub combo no matter how many commercials star Danny DeVito and Eli Manning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

But the Dodgers are the greatest show in baseball, playing before stadiums packed with fans willing to shell out top dollar to see a roster that includes international superstars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

One key factor determining how much older adults will shell out for health care is the age at which they retire, according to Milliman.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

“Thet’s jest exackly what I told Miss Love, son. I said, ‘How many folks is a-go’n shell out for a artermobile when they got a horse and buggy in the barn?’

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023