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
3
a
: a composition containing shellac formerly used for making phonograph records
b
: an old 78 rpm phonograph record
shellacked; shellacking
1
: to coat or otherwise treat with shellac or a shellac varnish
2
: to defeat decisively
Examples of shellac in a Sentence
Verb
the local football team was shellacked 35-0 in their final outing for the season
Recent Examples on the Web
Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 7 Oct. 2025
As Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle told Rolling Stone last year, the point of the Great 78 Project wasn’t to just highlight the shellac discs that have become major collector’s items, but the vast array of recorded music released during the first half of the 20th century.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2025
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Robert Morris opened the campaign with a 45-3 loss at West Virginia before taking a 56-17 shellacking at Youngstown State.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shellac
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Noun
But the biggest lift was the restoration of the wood throughout the house — a job that started by stripping every inch, then adding coats of shellac.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 7 Oct. 2025
As Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle told Rolling Stone last year, the point of the Great 78 Project wasn’t to just highlight the shellac discs that have become major collector’s items, but the vast array of recorded music released during the first half of the 20th century.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2025
Verb
While Cincinnati’s visit to Detroit was one of the more intriguing matchups on the fall calendar, the loss of Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ subsequent 48-10 shellacking under the horns of the Vikings have made the team a liability of sorts.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Robert Morris opened the campaign with a 45-3 loss at West Virginia before taking a 56-17 shellacking at Youngstown State.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shellac
Cite this Entry
“Shellac.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shellac. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shellac
1 of 2 noun
shel·lac
shə-ˈlak 
1
: purified lac
2
: a preparation of lac dissolved in alcohol and used as a wood filler or finish
shellac
2 of 2 verb
shellacked; shellacking
: to coat or treat with shellac
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