shell out

verb

shelled out; shelling out; shells out
Synonyms of shell outnext
: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Kalshi shelled out at least $1 million on lobbying last year—a record for the eight-year-old company. Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 27 Mar. 2026 Meta is the first to sign on, as the social media company builds out multiple gigawatts of AI data centers and plans to shell out up to $135 billion on capital expenditures this year. Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 24 Mar. 2026 Manz requested that the restaurant shell out $100,000 to compensate him for medical expenses, pain and suffering, emotional distress and lost enjoyment of his New York City trip. Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2026 Payton said multiple times around the season’s end that Denver had too many drops in the passing game, but the Broncos haven’t shelled out in an inflated receiver market to fix that. Luca Evans, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shell out

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined above

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shell out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shell%20out. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.

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