shell out

verb

shelled out; shelling out; shells out
: pay

Examples of shell out in a Sentence

we shelled out an obscene amount of money for those concert tickets
Recent Examples on the Web If this is a bucket list endeavor, consider shelling out a bit more to be a little closer to the field. Mark Stock, Men's Health, 8 Sep. 2023 The trip organizers shelled out tens of thousands of dollars on meals, lodging, and travel for the Democrats, records show, including $6,600 on Frost, the Washington Free Beacon reported. Gabe Kaminsky, Washington Examiner, 7 Sep. 2023 In addition, former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua shelled out about $31.4 million (£25 million) on a building in the West End, while the family of Manolo Blahnik spent about $44 million (£35 million) on an office in Mayfair. Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 5 Sep. 2023 Bail bondsmen typically require a defendant to put up 10% of the bond amount in cash, saving the person from shelling out the other 90%. Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2023 Consider this your obligatory reminder that earlier this year the network shelled out $787.5 million to settle a defamation suit by Dominion Voting Systems, which was repeatedly accused by Fox News hosts and guests of election fraud. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 18 Aug. 2023 But hey, Twitter’s unpaid Google Cloud bill reportedly got paid eventually, so maybe everyone who shelled out $8 (or $84 annually) in the hope of cashing in on Elon’s revenue sharing will get paid too — and soon. Richard Lawler, The Verge, 5 Aug. 2023 Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Chinese EV giant BYD’s electronics arm is shelling out $2.2 billion on the local manufacturing business of U.S.-based Jabil, which should help BYD Electronics advance in the smartphone components business. David Meyer, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2023 Former Jazz owner Larry Miller worried about it, thought maybe folks wouldn’t show up for home games on Sundays because of the religious attitudes of a good number of residents of Utah who otherwise would shell out plenty of cash for and at those games. Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 25 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shell out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shell out was in 1801

Dictionary Entries Near shell out

Cite this Entry

“Shell out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shell%20out. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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