Pronunciation: /ʃɛl/

Definitions of shell

noun a container for holding something

Example Sentences

A1 I found a pretty seashell on the beach.

A2 The hermit crab crawled into a new shell.

B1 The shell of the turtle is hard and protective.

B2 The scientist studied the shell of the ancient mollusk.

C1 The shell casing of the bullet was left behind as evidence.

C2 The artist created a beautiful sculpture using shells as a medium.

verb to remove the outer covering or shell of something

Example Sentences

A1 She shells peas for dinner.

A2 He shells nuts to make a snack.

B1 The company decided to shell out for a new marketing campaign.

B2 The government plans to shell out millions for infrastructure improvements.

C1 The wealthy businessman is known to shell out large sums for charity.

C2 The organization shelled out a substantial amount for research and development.

Examples of shell in a Sentence

formal The scientist studied the intricate details of the shell found on the beach.

informal I found a pretty shell on my walk along the shore.

slang Check out the cool shell I picked up at the beach!

figurative She retreated into her shell after the embarrassing incident.

Grammatical Forms of shell

past tense

shelled

plural

shells

comparative

more shell

superlative

most shell

present tense

shell

future tense

will shell

perfect tense

have shelled

continuous tense

is shelling

singular

shell

positive degree

shell

infinitive

to shell

gerund

shelling

participle

shelled

Origin and Evolution of shell

First Known Use: 0825 year
Language of Origin: Old English
Story behind the word: The word 'shell' originated from Old English 'scell', which was derived from Proto-Germanic 'skaljaz'.
Evolution of the word: Originally used to refer to a protective covering of an animal or plant, the term 'shell' has evolved to also describe a hard outer layer of various objects, such as nuts, eggs, and even buildings.