shell

¹

[ shel ]

noun

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. shells, Italian Cooking. 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 ( def 1 ).
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.

verb (used with object)

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)

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. Informal. to hand over (money); contribute; pay.

she'll

²

[ sheel; unstressed shil ]

1. contraction of she will.

she'll

¹

/ ʃɪl; ʃiːl /

contraction of

1. she will or she shall

shell

²

/ 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. come out of one's shell
    come out of one's shell to become less shy and reserved
17. bring out of one's shell
    bring out of one's shell to help to become less shy and reserved

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

shell

/ 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.

Usage Note

See contraction.

Derived Forms

• ˈshelly, adjective
• ˈshell-less, adjective

Other Words From

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of shell¹

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; shale

Word History and Origins

Origin of shell¹

Old English sciell; related to Old Norse skel shell, Gothic skalja tile, Middle Low German schelle shell; see scale ¹, shale

Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with shell , also see in one's shell .

Example Sentences

Israeli media have reported on company’s links to shell companies and byzantine deals.

From MIT Technology Review

Then they begin to burn hydrogen in a shell surrounding the center.

From Science News For Students

An empty shell of a man stumbled into a ramshackle Pentecostal church at 3585 Middlefield Road looking to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

From Ozy

I just know everybody has shell shock from the crisis learning that we did when we closed schools, and everybody had to start online.

From Voice of San Diego

The virus can infect human cells, and delivers DNA instructions for making the coronavirus’ spike protein — the knobby protein studding the virus’s outer shell.

From Science News

Their friends noticed, and asked Sabrine to talk to him to bring him out of his shell a little.

From The Daily Beast

Another said just the act of spending money on self-improvement made him determined to break out of his shell.

From The Daily Beast

If you tend to inhale your food without realizing how much you consumed, opt for nibbles like in-shell pistachio nuts.

From The Daily Beast

Then came the day Mustafa, along with two others, was killed by a mortar shell.

From The Daily Beast

Yet five years later, the news operation has vanished and TRN is now a shell of its former self.

From The Daily Beast

Off flew the shell, seven miles it flew; over the Turkish Army from one sea into another.

From Project Gutenberg

He conducts this ceremony with the greatest solemnity, occasionally pronouncing these incantatory words, "Plate or shell, sah?"

From Project Gutenberg

Fancy that enormous shell dropping suddenly out of the blue on to a ship's deck swarming with troops!

From Project Gutenberg

From pre-natal days I was destined for the railway service, as an oyster to its shell.

From Project Gutenberg

If one could languish through life in the shell of a mere beauty that life would be a good deal simpler proposition than it is.

From Project Gutenberg