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shel·lac | \ shə-ˈlak 
\
\Definition of shellac
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : purified lac usually prepared in thin orange or yellow flakes by heating and filtering and often bleached white
2 : a preparation of lac dissolved usually in alcohol and used chiefly as a wood filler and finish
3a : a composition containing shellac formerly used for making phonograph records
b : an old 78 rpm phonograph record
shellac
verbshellacked; shellacking
Definition of shellac (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to coat or otherwise treat with shellac or a shellac varnish
2 : to defeat decisively
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Synonyms for shellac
Synonyms: Verb
- annihilate,
- blow away,
- bomb,
- bury,
- clobber,
- cream,
- drub,
- dust,
- flatten,
- paste,
- rout,
- skin,
- skunk,
- smoke
- [slang],
- smother,
- snow under,
- thrash,
- trim,
- tromp,
- trounce,
- wallop,
- wax
- [slang],
- whip,
- whomp,
- whop
- (or whap),
- whup
Examples of shellac in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The Brach’s classic candy corn ingredients were listed as sugar, corn syrup, confectioner’s glaze (shellac), salt, dextrose, gelatin, sesame oil, artificial flavor, honey, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 3.
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Courtland Milloy, Washington Post, "Halloween stirs childhood memories of sweet treats. But adulthood means putting that sweet tooth in check.," 29 Oct. 2019 At the turn of the century, the ever-expanding electrical industry was running low on shellac, a resin secreted by the female lac bug which could be used as an insulating material.
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Alice Bell, CNN, "Can science break its plastic addiction?," 5 Nov. 2019 Shifts in format — from wax cylinders to shellac discs to LPs to CDs and MP3s and now streaming — arrive periodically to transform the record trade.
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New York Times, "The Day the Music Burned," 11 June 2019 Methanol is a type of alcohol that's often used as an ingredient in antifreeze, paint thinner, shellac, and windshield wiper fluid, according to MedlinePlus.
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Cory Stieg, refinery29.com, "Could Bootleg Alcohol Explain The Dominican Republic Deaths?," 18 June 2019 The site became industrialized with the Lacy Foundry and industries that made shellac and paint.
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Jacques Kelly, baltimoresun.com, "Baltimore's Harbor Point becomes a Cinderella story for an industrial site people once avoided," 15 June 2019 This contained inorganic pigments in an organic binding medium overlaid by a shellac varnish.
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The Economist, "Researchers find a way to use minute samples to detect forged paintings," 8 June 2019 Softer brushes, like this one, are better for stains and clear finishes, like varnish, spar varnish, shellac, and brushing lacquers.
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Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, "The 4 Biggest Painting Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)," 16 Jan. 2019 Pro tip: When playing football, use shellac nail polish.
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Jayda Evans, The Seattle Times, "A battle for respect, then in the trenches: For Newport’s Jenna Martz, football is feminism," 26 Oct. 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Both parties have slipped in popularity in recent months, and they were shellacked in October elections in Umbria, where the center-left lost power for the first time in decades.
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Washington Post, "Packing into piazzas, Italy’s ‘Sardines’ are demonstrating against a politician who isn’t in power," 22 Dec. 2019 Both parties have slipped in popularity in recent months, and they were shellacked in October elections in Umbria, where the center-left lost power for the first time in decades.
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BostonGlobe.com, "But while the Sardines have harnessed a measure of the grass-roots frustration common in so many global political protests this year, they are alone in one respect: The target of their ire is not the people technically in power, but rather the opposition.," 23 Dec. 2019 The Wolverines were shellacked by Ohio State in the final game of the regular season for the second consecutive year.
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Orion Sang, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan football's defense determined to stand its ground vs. Alabama," 29 Dec. 2019 Zidane's side has endured its own mixed fortunes this season, notably the shellacking it was given by Paris Saint-Germain in its opening group stage game.
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Matias Grez, CNN, "Champions League draw: Manchester City faces Real Madrid in 'morbid clash'," 16 Dec. 2019 The Gophers’ undefeated start was their best since 1904, back when the program was shellacking high school teams.
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Andy Greder, Twin Cities, "A look at the best moments of Gophers football’s historic season," 6 Dec. 2019 The Bruins shellacked the Habs, 8-1, Tuesday night in Montreal, led by David Pastrnak’s sixth career hat trick.
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BostonGlobe.com, "Reassured by an outside neurological assessment, a healthy David Backes eager to return - The Boston Globe," 2 Dec. 2019 The tactic certainly worked for the 49ers, who shellacked the Bengals, 41-17.
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BostonGlobe.com, "Instead, the start of the 2019 season has been a nightmare.," 22 Sep. 2019 Foster a serious contender While all attention was on Katy and North Shore in Galena Park or even Westfield and Lamar in Spring, Foster shellacked College Station in a 52-14 win at Legacy Stadium in Katy.
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Adam Coleman, Houston Chronicle, "Friday night highlights: Lightning strikes, again," 30 Aug. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shellac.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for shellac
shellac
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of shellac
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a clear liquid that dries into a hard coating and that is put on a surface to protect it
shellac
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of shellac (Entry 2 of 2)
: to coat (something) with shellac
US, informal : to defeat (a person or team) easily and completely
See the full definition for shellac in the English Language Learners Dictionary
shellac
nounshel·lac | \ shə-ˈlak \
\Kids Definition of shellac
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a varnish made from a material that is given off by an insect and that is dissolved usually in alcohol
shellac
verbshellacked; shellacking
Kids Definition of shellac (Entry 2 of 2)
: to coat with shellac
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Comments on shellac
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Time Traveler for shellac
The first known use of shellac was in 1704
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