nutshell

noun

nut·shell | \ ˈnət-ˌshel

Definition of nutshell

1 : the hard external covering in which the kernel of a nut is enclosed

2 : something of small size, amount, or scope

in a nutshell

: in a very brief statement

Examples of nutshell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a nutshell, camp is an elusive and playful and knowing sensibility, one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. — Laird Borrelli-persson, Vogue, "This Is What Camp Is...According to Met Gala Attendees," 8 May 2019 In a nutshell, the training plan involved running 90 to 95 miles a week, including early runs before work, evening runs after work, and just five to six hours of sleep in between. — Jenny Mccoy, SELF, "How Sarah Sellers Went From Surprise Podium Finisher at the Boston Marathon to Pro Athlete," 8 Apr. 2019 The Season 1 finale gave us this line, which basically sums up the show in a nutshell. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "'Killing Eve' Season Two Finally Has a Release Date. Here's Everything We Know.," 5 Jan. 2019 In a nutshell, an internal combustion engine works by using pistons to compress a mixture of air and vaporized fuel within a cylinder. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Warming Up Your Car in the Cold Just Harms the Engine," 28 Dec. 2018 But contradictions like this sum up 2018 in a nutshell. — Cazzie David, Vogue, "2018’s Most Ridiculous Moments in Beauty—And Beyond!—According to Cazzie David," 22 Dec. 2018 That, in a nutshell, describes my week with the Acura MDX Sport Hybrid. — Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, "Love the hardware, hate the UI: The Acura MDX Sport Hybrid," 13 Dec. 2018 In a nutshell, the game has everyone draw a number with the lowest number unwrapping the first gift and the highest number getting to steal the best unwrapped gift. — Vogue, "Wes Gordon and Lauren Santo Domingo Bring the Cheer Ahead of the Fashion Awards," 10 Dec. 2018 In a nutshell, humans and machines become partners rather than competitors because designers don’t want to be engineers, and engineers don’t want to get lost in the production grind. — Pam Baker, Ars Technica, "Artificial Intelligence and the coming of the self-designing machine," 6 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nutshell.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.