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shell out

 [shel]   Origin

shell

   [shel]
noun
1.
a hard outer covering of an animal, as the hard case of a mollusk, or either half of the case of a bivalve mollusk.
2.
any of various objects resembling such a covering, as in shape or in being more or less concave or hollow.
3.
the material constituting any of various coverings of this kind.
4.
the hard exterior of an egg.
5.
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.
EXPAND
6.
a hard, protecting or enclosing case or cover.
7.
an attitude or manner of reserve that usually conceals one's emotions, thoughts, etc.: One could not penetrate his shell.
8.
a hollow projectile for a cannon, mortar, etc., filled with an explosive charge designed to explode during flight, upon impact, or after penetration.
9.
a metallic cartridge used in small arms and small artillery pieces.
10.
a metal or paper cartridge, as for use in a shotgun.
11.
a cartridgelike pyrotechnic device that explodes in the air.
12.
shells, Italian Cookery. small pieces of pasta having the shape of a shell.
13.
the lower pastry crust of a pie, tart, or the like, baked before the filling is added.
14.
Computers. a program providing a menu-driven or graphical user interface designed to simplify use of the operating system, as in loading application programs.
15.
Physics.
a.
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.
b.
a group of nucleons of approximately the same energy.
16.
a light, long, narrow racing boat, for rowing by one or more persons.
17.
the outer part of a finished garment that has a lining, especially a detachable lining.
18.
a woman's sleeveless blouse or sweater, especially one meant for wear under a suit jacket.
19.
Nautical. the plating, planking, or the like, covering the ribs and forming the exterior hull of a vessel.
20.
tortoise shell (def. 1).
21.
a mollusk.
22.
Engineering. the curved solid forming a dome or vault.
23.
an arena or stadium covered by a domed or arched roof.
24.
a saucer-shaped arena or stadium.
25.
the framework, external structure, or walls and roof of a building: After the fire, only the shell of the school was left.
26.
a small glass for beer.
27.
the metal, pressure-resistant outer casing of a fire-tube boiler.
28.
Metallurgy.
a.
a scab on the surface of an ingot.
b.
a length of unfinished tubing.
c.
a pierced forging.
d.
a hollow object made by deep drawing.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
29.
to take out of the shell, pod, etc.; remove the shell of.
30.
to separate (Indian corn, grain, etc.) from the ear, cob, or husk.
31.
to fire shells or explosive projectiles into, upon, or among; bombard.

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Shell out is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
32.
to fall or come out of the shell, husk, etc.
33.
to come away or fall off, as a shell or outer coat.
34.
to gather sea shells: We spent the whole morning shelling while the tide was out.
Verb phrase
35.
shell out, Informal. to hand over (money); contribute; pay.
Origin:
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; compare shale

Related forms
shell-less, adjective
shell-like, adjective
de-shell, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To shell out
Collins
World English Dictionary
shell out
 
—vb
informal (adverb) to pay out or hand over (money)
 
[C19: from shell (in the sense: to remove from a pod or (figuratively) a purse)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

shell
1562, "to remove (a nut, etc.) from a shell," from shell (v.). The meaning "to bombard with shells is first attested 1856. To shell out "disburse" (1801) is a fig. use from the image of extracting nuts.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
shell   (shěl)  Pronunciation Key 

    1. The usually hard outer covering of certain animals, such as mollusks, insects, and turtles.

    2. The hard outer covering of a bird's egg.

    3. The hard outer covering of a seed, nut, or fruit.

    4. 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.

    5. 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.

    1. 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.

    2. 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.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary

shell out (an amount of money) definition


and shell (an amount of money) out
  1. tv. & in.
    to spend a certain amount of money. : I'm not going to shell $400 out for that!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

shell out definition


[Unix] To spawn an interactive subshell from within a program (e.g. a mailer or editor). "Bang foo runs foo in a subshell, while bang alone shells out."
[Jargon File]
(1995-05-11)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

shell out

Pay, hand over, as in We had to shell out $1,000 for auto repairs. This expression transfers taking a seed such as a pea or nut out of its pod or shell to taking money out of one's pocket. [Colloquial; c. 1800]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
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