shell

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: swell, spell, hell, smell, shall, sell, snell, stell, skell, shelf, shill

Antonyms: swell, spell, hell, smell, shall, sell, snell, stell, skell, shelf, shill

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Noun

1. A [[hard]] [[external]] [[covering]] of an [[animal]].
2. The hard [[calcareous]] covering of a bird [[egg]].
3. One of the outer layers of skin of an [[onion]].
4. {{lb|en|botany}} The hard external covering of various [[plant]] [[seed]] forms.
5. {{lb|en|geology}} The accreted mineral formed around a hollow [[geode]].
6. {{lb|en|weaponry}} The [[casing]] of a self-contained single-unit [[artillery]] projectile.
7. {{lb|en|weaponry}} A [[hollow]], usually spherical or cylindrical [[projectile]] fired from a siege [[mortar]] or a [[smoothbore]] [[cannon]]. It contains an [[explosive]] substance designed to be [[ignite]]d by a [[fuse]] or by [[percussion]] at the target site so that it will [[burst]] and [[scatter]] at high velocity its contents and [[fragment]]s. Formerly called a [[bomb]].
8. {{lb|en|weaponry}} The [[cartridge]] of a [[breechloading]] [[firearm]]; a [[load]]; a [[bullet]]; a [[round]].
9. {{lb|en|architecture}} Any slight hollow structure; a [[framework]], or [[exterior]] structure, regarded as not complete or filled in, as the '''shell''' of a house.
10. A garment, usually worn by women, such as a shirt, [[blouse]], or [[top]], with short sleeves or no sleeves, that often fastens in the rear.
11. A [[coarse]] or [[flimsy]] [[coffin]]; a thin interior coffin enclosed within a more [[substantial]] one.
12. An unmarked vehicle for carrying corpses from a crime scene.

Verb

1. To remove the outer covering or shell of something.
2. To [[bombard]], to fire projectiles at, especially with [[artillery]].
3. {{lb|en|informal}} To disburse or give up [[money]], to [[pay]]. (Often used with ''[[out]]'').
4. {{lb|en|intransitive}} To [[fall off]], as a shell, crust, etc.
5. {{lb|en|intransitive}} To [[cast]] the shell, or exterior covering; to [[fall out]] of the [[pod]] or [[husk]].
6. {{lb|en|computing|intransitive}} To switch to a shell or [[command line]].
7. To form shallow, irregular cracks (in a coating).
8. {{lb|en|topology}} To form a [[shelling]].
9. {{lb|en|cricket|slang|transitive}} To [[drop]] (the ball).

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.