Shell Definition

shĕl

shelled, shelling, shells

noun

shells

A hard outer covering, as of a turtle, mollusk, insect, egg, fruit, seed, etc.

Webster's New World

A similar outer covering on a nut or seed.

American Heritage

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.

Webster's New World

A shy, reserved, or uncommunicative attitude or manner.

To come out of one's shell.

Webster's New World

A similar outer covering on certain eggs, such as those of birds and reptiles; an eggshell.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

verb

shelled, shelling, shells

To separate from the shell or covering.

Peanuts shell easily.

Webster's New World

To remove the shell or covering from; take out of the shell.

To shell peas, oysters, etc.

Webster's New World

To fall, slough, or peel off.

Webster's New World

To separate kernels or grains of (corn, wheat, etc.) from the cob or ear.

Webster's New World

To fire shells at from a large gun or guns; bombard.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

idiom

shell out

to pay out (money)

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Shell

Noun

Singular:

shell

Plural:

shells

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Shell

shell out

Origin of Shell

Middle English schelle, from Old English (Anglian) scell 'eggshell, seashell', (South) sciell, sciel, from Proto-Germanic *skaljō (compare West Frisian skyl (“peel, rind"), Dutch schil (“peel, skin, rink"), Low German Schell (“shell, scale")), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kel- (“to split, cleave") (compare Irish scelec (“pebble"), Latin silex (“pebble, flint"), siliqua (“pod"), Old Church Slavonic сколика (skolika, “shell")). More at shale. Doublet of sheal.

From Wiktionary
Middle English from Old English scell skel-¹ in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition