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shell definition

shell (s̸hel)

noun

  1. a hard outer covering, as of a turtle, mollusk, insect, egg, fruit, seed, etc.
  2. something like or suggestive of a shell in being hollow, empty, or simply a covering or framework, as the hull of a boat, a hollow pastry or unfilled pie crust, the framework of a building, a structure with an arched or hemispherical roof or back, a tapered beer glass, etc.
  3. a shy, reserved, or uncommunicative attitude or manner to come out of one's shell
  4. ☆ a woman's simple sleeveless blouse or sweater
  5. ☆ a long, narrow, thin-hulled racing boat rowed usually by a team of oarsmen
  6. an explosive artillery projectile containing high explosives and sometimes shrapnel, chemicals, etc.
  7. ☆ a cartridge for small arms or small artillery, consisting of a metal, paper, or plastic case holding the primer, powder charge, and shot or bullet
  8. a pyrotechnic cartridge which explodes high in the air
    1. a mollusk
    2. shellfish
  9. Chem., Physics
    1. any of the spherical or elliptical orbits of electrons around the nucleus of an atom, each with the same principal quantum number and about the same energy
    2. the space taken up by such an orbit
    3. a grouping of like nucleons of approximately the same energy in the nucleus

Etymology: ME schelle < OE sciel, akin to MDu schelle < IE base *(s)kel-: see shelf

transitive verb

  1. to remove the shell or covering from; take out of the shell to shell peas, oysters, etc.
  2. to separate kernels or grains of (corn, wheat, etc.) from the cob or ear
  3. to fire shells at from a large gun or guns; bombard

intransitive verb

  1. to separate from the shell or covering peanuts shell easily
  2. to fall, slough, or peel off, as a shell
  3. ☆ to gather or collect shells

Related Forms:

shell Idioms

shell out

Informal to pay out (money)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
shell Synonyms

shell

n.

  1. A shell-like cover or structure

    husk, crust, nut, pod, case, pericarp, scale, shard, theca, integument, eggshell, carapace, plastron.

  2. An explosive projectile

    bullet, projectile, casing, cartridge; see bullet. see also weapon 1.

    Varieties include: armor-piercing, blind-loaded, high-explosive, anti-personnel, artillery shell, cannon shell, common, deck-piercing, torpedo, shrapnel, antiaircraft;

  3. A crustaceous covering

    carapace, sea shell, test. see also seashell.

    Varieties include: tortoise, crustacean, conch, snail;


shell

v.

strip, break off, remove the kernel, shuck, shell off, peel off, exfoliate, husk.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

shell Usage Examples

Object

  • ameba: Unlike in fresh water, shelled ameba which build rigid ' houses ' with organic debris, are not present in marine samples.

Converse of object

  • deplete: News that depleted uranium shells were fired in Britain was announced many years ago.

Adjective modifier

  • outer: Most current helmets are basically all EPS foam with a thin plastic outer shell.

Modifies a noun

  • script: Use in a shell script to read from the keyboard.

Noun used with modifier

  • artillery: The hull is an entire coral reef in its own right, artillery shells now fused into the coral masses.

Preposition: of

  • crustacean: It is also essential for the hardening of the chitinous shell of crustaceans.
shell usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

shell quotes

He cultivated to perfection the sneer which he used like an oyster-knife, inserting it into the shell of his victim, exposing him with a quick-turn of the wrist, and finally flipping him over and inviting his audience to discard him as tainted and inedible.

-Annan, Noe«  l Gilroy, Baron

Every book is like a purge; at the end of it one is empty†likea dryshell onthebeach, waiting for thetide to come in again.

-du Maurier, Dame Daphne

And what you thought you came for Is onlya shell, a husk of meaning From which the purpose breaks only when it is fulfilled If at all. Either you had no purpose Or the purpose is beyond the end you figured And is altered in fulfilment.

-Eliot,T(homas) S(tearns)

shell quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"shell." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/shell>

APA Style

shell. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/shell

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