1
as in sheath
something that encloses another thing especially to protect it
eating oysters straight out of their shells
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in structure
the arrangement of parts that gives something its basic form
workers at the shipyard have thus far erected the shell of the ship
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in exterior
an outer part or layer
the shell of the building is all glass, making it conspicuous on a street with mostly limestone facades
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shell
Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2025
The Dominator 3, at its base a Ford F-350, features an armored shell and skirting designed to keep winds from lifting the vehicle; strong windows, equipment for tracking weather data and a hydraulic spike system used to anchor the vehicle to the ground.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2025
Molly Hunter, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
As part of the project, the company is also exploring investment in local processing infrastructure, which would keep more of the cashew’s value in Côte d’Ivoire while reducing the environmental footprint of shipping raw nuts abroad for shelling and grading.
—Esha Chhabra, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shell
Noun
Fuinloth Quilted Vest Fuinloth’s Quilted Vest has a light shell that won’t weigh you down throughout the day.
—Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2025
The Dominator 3, at its base a Ford F-350, features an armored shell and skirting designed to keep winds from lifting the vehicle; strong windows, equipment for tracking weather data and a hydraulic spike system used to anchor the vehicle to the ground.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
Eyewitnesses reported tanks had entered a neighborhood on the city's northern edge late Tuesday and shelled houses, wounding several people and forcing many others to move deeper into the city.
—Molly Hunter, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
As part of the project, the company is also exploring investment in local processing infrastructure, which would keep more of the cashew’s value in Côte d’Ivoire while reducing the environmental footprint of shipping raw nuts abroad for shelling and grading.
—Esha Chhabra, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shell
Noun
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Although police recovered an ample sample from the snap on the sheath, Kohberger's DNA wasn't in the government's Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS, because he hadn't been implicated in any prior crimes.—
Michael Ruiz , Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, minimalist sheaths, à la Altuzarra and Alberta Ferretti, play up the sophisticated sheen of satin.—
Rosie Jarman,
Vogue,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Traditional data lakes can store raw data at scale but lack quality controls, while warehouses enforce structure but struggle with unstructured or fast changing data.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Leaders who can diagnose feedback loops, surface mental models and align vision with structure will turn collaboration from aspiration into execution.—
Thomas Lim,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Under those sturdy leather exteriors, a Gore-tex liner keeps you high and dry, preventing water from entering while shedding unwanted moisture.—
Alice Bennett,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Sep. 2025
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Sailing yacht designer Malcolm McKeon Yacht Design is responsible for the exterior.—
Katia Damborsky,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For the first time, Israel launched an airstrike in Qatar, bombing a building in Doha that houses Hamas political leadership.—
Greg Dixon,
NPR,
9 Sep. 2025
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Israel has also regularly bombed the south.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Based on the number of shell casings collected at the scene by investigators, including Rangers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Myers said the gunman fired at least 20 shots before fleeing the bar.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
7 Sep. 2025
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After the shooting, investigators were unable to find ammunition casings or attribute the source of two additional gunshots that could be heard in videos from the scene.—
Nicole Blanchard,
Idaho Statesman,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Wu also emphasized that Beijing is open to international cooperation, including data sharing, with the goal of building a joint global asteroid defense framework.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Sep. 2025
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Taken together, the three lights provide a framework that is both simple and profound.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The patterns on vinyl floors are only on the surface, while linoleum's patterns go all the way through the material.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
7 Sep. 2025
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For observers in Australia, Asia, Africa and parts of Europe, the rise of the full moon will be followed by its journey through Earth’s shadow in space, with its surface glowing reddish-orange for 82 minutes.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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There were female writers, women who were the lead supervising producers barking out the assignments and calling the shots.—
Rachel Burchfield,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Dogs can bark, but robots can talk back Even the most advanced quadruped robot on the market today can’t match a real dog’s innate sense of smell or its highly developed navigational instincts.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shell. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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