shell

[ shel ]

/ ʃɛl /

noun

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.

shells, Italian Cookery. 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.

tortoiseshell(def 1).

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.

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

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.

Verb Phrases

shell out, Informal. to hand over (money); contribute; pay.

Origin of shell

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

OTHER WORDS FROM shell

shell-less, adjective shell-like, adjective de-shell, verb (used with object)

Words nearby shell

shelf-stacker, shelfful, shelflist, shelfware, shelikof strait, shell, shell back, shell bean, shell company, shell game, shell gland

Example sentences from the Web for shells

The newest coach seats drop the upholstery and, instead, are shells molded to the human spine.

Flying Coach Is the New Hell: How Airlines Engineer You Out of Room |Clive Irving |November 25, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
An exuberant game of football takes place, then the sound of shells is heard, and both sides repair back to their enemy positions.

How Monty The Penguin Won Christmas: Britain’s Epic, Emotional Commercials |Tim Teeman |November 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
On Nov. 5, shells killed two children and wounded several people on a school playng field in Donetsk.

Ukraine Could Explode in the Next 48 Hours |Anna Nemtsova |November 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Eventually, Wurmser said, Sunni insurgent groups did gain access to the shells in 2005.

Insiders Blame Rove for Covering Up Iraq’s Real WMD |Eli Lake |October 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

As many as 5,000 shells fell into the center of town each day for nearly four weeks.

Atlanta’s Fall Foretold The End Of Civil War Bloodshed |Marc Wortman |September 1, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Shells of this genus are often found grouped together in an inextricable mass.

The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide |Augusta Foote Arnold
The feathers on their thighs are round like shells at the end, and being there very thick, have an agreeable effect.

Extinct Birds |Walter Rothschild
Robinson put a couple of nuts in his hunting bag, and also the shells from the broken nuts.

An American Robinson Crusoe |Samuel. B. Allison
They played in parties of two and two, with five shells each.

Samoa, A Hundred Years Ago And Long Before |George Turner
I used to wonder how there was enough lead in the world to make all the shells the armies used.

Over the Seas for Uncle Sam |Elaine Sterne

British Dictionary definitions for shells

shell

/ (ʃɛl) /

noun

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 (def. 7a)

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

British (in some schools) a class or form

come out of one's shell to become less shy and reserved

bring out of one's shell to help to become less shy and reserved

verb

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

Derived forms of shell

shell-less, adjective shelly, adjective

Word Origin for shell

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

Scientific definitions for shells

shell

[ shĕl ]

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). See more at atomic spectrum orbital subshell. See Note at metal.
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.

Idioms and Phrases with shells

shell

In addition to the idiom beginning with shell

shell out

also see:

in one's shell

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

shell