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

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

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

There is also the green transition to pay for, with the household set to shell out £11 million a year replacing old gas boilers with new heat pumps at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

But before we could shell out the four hundred dollars for classes at A.C.T.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi