shell out

verb

shelled out; shelling out; shells out

: pay

Synonyms of shell out

• spend
• pay
• lay out

Examples of shell out in a Sentence

we shelled out an obscene amount of money for those concert tickets

Recent Examples on the Web

These folks aren’t messing around; everyone is willing to shell out for the best possible experience. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Sep. 2026

Elena Chertovskikh | Istock Editorial | Getty Images Even if vacationers continue shelling out, higher costs for a discretionary experience like travel could weigh on their psyche, according to Brian LeBlanc, PNC’s senior economist. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026

That’s because content companies are willing to shell out major bucks to air live, anything-can-happen matches, which tend to draw bigger audiences than scripted fare. — Andrew Zucker, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026

Per Deadline reporting, House of the Dragon cost nearly $200 million and was the subject of HBO’s biggest marketing campaign ever, valued at over $100M in media spend (that’s a combo of ad spot value and hard cash shelled out). — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shell out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout