a hard outer covering of an animal, as the hard case of a mollusk, or either half of the case of a bivalve mollusk.
any of various objects resembling such a covering, as in shape or in being more or less concave or hollow.
the material constituting any of various coverings of this kind.
the hard exterior of an egg.
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.
a hard, protecting or enclosing case or cover.
an attitude or manner of reserve that usually conceals one's emotions, thoughts, etc..
One could not penetrate his shell.
a hollow projectile for a cannon, mortar, etc., filled with an explosive charge designed to explode during flight, upon impact, or after penetration.
a metallic cartridge used in small arms and small artillery pieces.
a metal or paper cartridge, as for use in a shotgun.
a cartridgelike pyrotechnic device that explodes in the air.
Italian Cooking. shells, small pieces of pasta having the shape of a shell.
the lower pastry crust of a pie, tart, or the like, baked before the filling is added.
Computers. a program providing a menu-driven or graphical user interface designed to simplify use of the operating system, as in loading application programs.
Physics.
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.
a group of nucleons of approximately the same energy.
a light, long, narrow racing boat, for rowing by one or more persons.
the outer part of a finished garment that has a lining, especially a detachable lining.
a woman's sleeveless blouse or sweater, especially one meant for wear under a suit jacket.
Nautical. the plating, planking, or the like, covering the ribs and forming the exterior hull of a vessel.
a mollusk.
Engineering. the curved solid forming a dome or vault.
an arena or stadium covered by a domed or arched roof.
a saucer-shaped arena or stadium.
the framework, external structure, or walls and roof of a building.
After the fire, only the shell of the school was left.
a small glass for beer.
the metal, pressure-resistant outer casing of a fire-tube boiler.
Metallurgy.
a scab on the surface of an ingot.
a length of unfinished tubing.
a pierced forging.
a hollow object made by deep drawing.
to take out of the shell, pod, etc.; remove the shell of.
to separate (Indian corn, grain, etc.) from the ear, cob, or husk.
to fire shells or explosive projectiles into, upon, or among; bombard.
to fall or come out of the shell, husk, etc.
to come away or fall off, as a shell or outer coat.
to gather sea shells.
We spent the whole morning shelling while the tide was out.
the protective calcareous or membranous outer layer of an egg, esp a bird's egg
the hard outer covering of many molluscs that is secreted by the mantle
any other hard outer layer, such as the exoskeleton of many arthropods
the hard outer layer of some fruits, esp of nuts
any hard outer case
a hollow artillery projectile filled with explosive primed to explode either during flight, on impact, or after penetration Compare ball 1
a small-arms cartridge comprising a hollow casing inside which is the primer, charge, and bullet
a pyrotechnic cartridge designed to explode in the air
rowing a very light narrow racing boat
the external structure of a building, esp one that is unfinished or one that has been gutted by fire
the basic structural case of something, such as a machine, vehicle, etc
physics
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
an analogous energy state of nucleons in certain theories ( shell models ) of the structure of the atomic nucleus
the pastry case of a pie, flan, etc
a thin slab of concrete or a skeletal framework made of wood or metal that forms a shell-like roof
(in some schools) a class or form
to become less shy and reserved
to help to become less shy and reserved
to divest or be divested of a shell, husk, pod, etc
to separate or be separated from an ear, husk, cob, etc
(tr) to bombard with artillery shells
The usually hard outer covering of certain animals, such as mollusks, insects, and turtles.
The hard outer covering of a bird's egg.
The hard outer covering of a seed, nut, or fruit.
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).
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.
See contraction.
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; cf. shale
A hard surface that covers an animal is its shell. Sea urchins, turtles, and lobsters all have protective shells. The largest turtle shell is nearly 10 feet wide! Most shells are made of calcium carbonate, and they grow along with the animal. Bird embryos are nestled inside shells, and nuts have shells too. Other uses for shell come from the biological meaning. A rifle shell has a shell-like metal casing. An empty structure, with only walls, is the shell of a building. And to "come out of your shell," means to emerge, like a turtle, from your shyness.
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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
One result is that a 155mm artillery shell usually includes components from half a dozen countries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Finish them off with flaky sea salt, then store them in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the outer chocolate shell has hardened.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
The newly designed white French loudspeakers suspended over the Bowl stage along with ground-level white cubes of super-effective subwoofers have clean, unobtrusive lines that well fit the shell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
One was for a spyglass, one for a whorly, whistling shell, and one for a fat red pocketknife in a sheath.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
And the more prominent Waters becomes, the more of a problem she’ll be.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Orpheus tries to rescue his love, but his faith in her is tested on their return to the top — if he turns back to see if she’s there, she’ll be banished to Hadestown forever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
This summer, she’ll make her debut as an activist investor there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
She knows that the sun will always rise again, and that when she exits the Club of Love, she’ll have to face the unbearable truths that the light of a new day reveals.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
“You know your mom. You know what she’ll do and what she won’t do. If anyone can find her, it’ll be you.”
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
In Chapineria, west of Madrid, the flames had torn through dozens of vehicles at an industrial park, leaving charred shells behind, AFP photographers saw.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
TNT, the explosive material in artillery shells, is also scarce and Europe now has just a single factory that makes it, in Poland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Unlike coccolithophores, diatoms have silica shells and generally make the Black Sea appear darker instead of brighter.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
Walking along the railroad tracks, she watched Simon Rodia build the Watts Towers’ 17 spires from rebar, shells, tiles, mirrors, soda bottles and cement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
I’ve added a few shells to the feathers as ornaments.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
Duckett edged Nathan Smith towards third slip, where Henry Nicholls shelled a simple chance.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Listening to Shohei Ohtani’s assessment of his own performance on Wednesday, one would have thought he got shelled.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
My parents wanted to save my life, and so they shelled out the cash, my father taking on side jobs to pay for it.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
But for both Sun Peaks, which shelled out $180,000 for a larger blanket, and Bogus Basin, which spent $120,000, the investment has paid off.
From Slate ● Apr. 11, 2026
The cratered streets were flanked by little more than ruins of shelled buildings and abandoned homes.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Netflix has revealed just how big it is betting on artificial intelligence, shelling out more than half a billion dollars for one of the early AI movers in Hollywood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Mark paid Williams £44,000 - but ended up shelling out an extra £20,000 to get the job finished without him.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
And the palace is shelling out for more expensive cybersecurity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Meet the World Cup fans shelling out thousands for once-in-a-lifetime trips — and some don’t even have tickets to games.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
Ruth hummed quietly to herself, shelling peas into a large wooden bowl, and Becky chopped kale.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
