shell

SHEL/ʃɛl/

Pluralshells

Verbshells, shelling, shelled

36 meanings of shell

Practice

1
nouncountable
The hard outer part that covers and protects some animals, such as snails, crabs and turtles, or an egg or nut.
Like a hard suit of armor that the animal carries around with it.
A snail can pull its body back into its shell when it feels threatened.
We collected smooth, striped shells along the beach all afternoon.
Note
2
nounfigurativelycountable
The outside covering, case, or frame of something, apart from what is inside it.
Like a gift box that looks the same no matter what is placed inside.
The old factory kept its brick shell while everything inside was rebuilt.
The new phone keeps the same shell but has faster parts inside.
Similarcasing, body, exterior, frame, framework
Oppositeinterior, core
3
attack with gunsverbtransitive
To attack a place by firing many big guns at it.
Like hurling a storm of heavy rocks at a target from far away.
The army shelled the town for three days straight.
They shell the hillside whenever enemy troops gather there.
Similarbombard, pound, blast
Note
4
pay outverbcolloquialtransitive
To pay money for something, often when you would rather not.
Like emptying your wallet bit by bit to cover a cost.
We had to shell out fifty dollars just for parking.
I'm not going to shell out that much for a single ticket.
UsageSay shell out money for something.
Similarpay, spend
5
nouncountable
A large metal case filled with explosives that is fired from a big gun and then blows up.
Like a metal ball packed with firecrackers that blows apart when it lands.
The shell exploded just past the old stone wall.
The mortar lobbed a shell high over the castle walls.
Similarround, projectile
Note
6
gun cartridgenouncountable
A case holding gunpowder and shot, loaded into a gun to fire one round.
Like a small tube packed with everything a gun needs to fire one shot.
He loaded a fresh shell into the shotgun.
Empty shells littered the ground around the hunters.
Similarcartridge, round, casing
Note
7
remove coveringverbtransitive
To take the hard outer covering off of something.
Like peeling the skin off a banana to get to the soft part.
We sat on the porch and shelled peas all afternoon.
You have to shell the shrimp before you cook them.
UsageYou shell nuts and peas, but you peel a banana.
Similarshuck, hull, husk, peel
8
emotional wallnouncountable
A way of keeping to yourself and not letting other people get close.
Like hiding inside a hard cover so no one can reach you.
She came out of her shell once she made a few good friends.
It took him weeks to break out of his shell at the new school.
UsageSay come out of your shell when you become less shy and more willing to talk to others.
Similarcocoon
9
empty remainsnounfigurativelycountable
What is left of someone or something when all the life or meaning inside is gone.
Like an empty box after everything inside has been taken out.
After the long illness, he was only a shell of his old self.
Once the factory closed, the town became a shell of what it had been.
UsageOften a shell of his old self or an empty shell.
Similarhusk, shadow
Note
10
command programnouncountable
A program that lets you type commands to control a computer and start other programs.
Like a counter where you tell a worker what to do and they go do it for you.
She opened a shell and typed a command to list the files.
You can run the backup script straight from the shell.
Note
11
front companynouncountable
A company that exists on paper but does no real business.
Like an empty box with a company's name on it but nothing working inside.
The money was hidden in a shell with no real employees.
Investigators found a shell that owned nothing but a bank account.
UsageOften in shell company.
Similarfront
Note
12
electron layernouncountable
A layer where electrons move around the center of an atom.
Like rings of seats around a center, where each ring holds only so many.
The outer shell of an atom holds the electrons that form bonds.
Each shell can hold only a certain number of electrons.
Note

Less common meanings

13
clam (animal)nouncountable
A small soft animal, like a clam or snail, that lives inside a hard outer covering.
Some cone shells can sting, so never pick one up.
The top shell is a small sea snail that lives on rocks.
Similarshellfish
14
bean podnouncountable
The pod that holds the seeds of plants like beans and peas.
Like a little box that keeps the seeds safe until they are ready.
She broke open the shell to take out the fresh peas.
The dried shells split easily once the beans were ripe.
UsageMost people say pod.
Similarpod, husk, hull
Note
15
onion skinnouncountable
A thin, dry piece of skin on the outside of an onion.
Like the thin paper wrapper around the outside of an onion.
She peeled the dry shell off the onion before chopping it.
The onion's thin brown shell crackled in my hand.
Similarskin, peel
16
racing boatnouncountable
A long, thin, light boat used for racing with oars.
Like a long, thin canoe built just for going fast.
The team carried their shell down to the river before dawn.
She rowed the narrow shell across the calm lake.
Note
17
sleeveless topnouncountable
A simple top for women with short sleeves or none, often fastened at the back.
She wore a silk shell under her jacket.
The blue shell matched her skirt perfectly.
Similartop, blouse
18
drop from podverbintransitive
To drop out of the pod or husk, the way ripe seeds do.
Like ripe seeds falling out when a pod dries and opens.
When fully ripe, the wheat begins to shell in the field.
Wait too long to harvest, and the dry beans will shell out in the field.
Similarshed, shatter
Note
19
flake offverbintransitive
To break away and drop off, the way a crust or hard layer does.
Like old paint flaking off a damp wall.
Old paint can shell off a wall in thin flakes.
In the cold, the old stone started to shell off in small pieces.
UsageSay shell off: old paint shells off.
Similarpeel, flake, scale
20
noun
The outer skins of cocoa beans, used in place of real cocoa.
21
noun
A cheap, thin coffin, or one put inside a stronger coffin.
22
noun
A plain car or van with no signs that carries dead bodies away from where a crime happened.
23
noun
A lyre or similar instrument with a body shaped like a shell.
24
noun
A copper roller with a pattern cut into it, used for printing cloth.
25
noun
The thin copper skin on a printing plate.
26
noun
The outside case of a pulley.
27
noun
A person who is very, very thin.
28
noun
A hollow iron tool used to shape a lens.
29
noun
A drill bit with a curved, hollow edge.
30
noun
All the sounds in a syllable except its vowel.
31
nounslangUK
The ear, as the body part that hears.
32
nounBritish
A school year or class at some British schools.
33
noun
Debate rules with a penalty for breaking each one.
34
verb
To leave a program and go to the command line.
35
verb
To crack in a shallow, uneven way, said of paint or another coating.
36
verbslang
To let the ball fall out of your hands.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of shell apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Old English sċiell, going back to an ancient root meaning "to split or cleave." The computing sense comes from seeing it as an outer layer between the user and the operating system.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Shell derives from Old English sċiell. en.wiktionary.org
The word ultimately derives from an ancient root meaning to split or cleave. en.wiktionary.org
The computing sense arose from the metaphor of an outer interface layer between the user and operating-system internals. en.wiktionary.org