shell out

British  

verb

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

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shell out Idioms  

1. 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]

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Etymology

Origin of shell out

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

Example Sentences

Unable to shell out the additional fees, Ko Myint dropped out of the programme despite having been offered a place to study nursing in Helsinki.

From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026

The lower end of that spectrum tends to shell out more “because they have the most to prove,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

If you want to make a 20% down payment on a $750,000 home, the recommended percentage to avoid private mortgage insurance, you’d need to shell out $150,000.

From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026

Gartner expects firms will shell out $2.5 trillion this year, more than the entire GDP of Italy, and rise to $3.3 billion in 2027.

From Barron's • May 7, 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