1
as in sheath
something that encloses another thing especially to protect it
eating oysters straight out of their shells
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in structure
the arrangement of parts that gives something its basic form
workers at the shipyard have thus far erected the shell of the ship
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in exterior
an outer part or layer
the shell of the building is all glass, making it conspicuous on a street with mostly limestone facades
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shell
Sandy Ong, JSTOR Daily, 11 Sep. 2025
The eartips also add a thin layer of foam to their silicone shells compared with the AirPods Pro 2's completely silicone tips, which can improve the seal against your ear canal and further block out noise.
—PC Magazine, 11 Sep. 2025
Lila Hempel-Edgers, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2025
Eyewitnesses reported tanks had entered a neighborhood on the city's northern edge late Tuesday and shelled houses, wounding several people and forcing many others to move deeper into the city.
—Molly Hunter, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shell
Noun
Beyond that, however, pollen’s seemingly impenetrable shell—made up of the biopolymer sporopollenin—had long stumped researchers and limited its use.
—Sandy Ong, JSTOR Daily, 11 Sep. 2025
The eartips also add a thin layer of foam to their silicone shells compared with the AirPods Pro 2's completely silicone tips, which can improve the seal against your ear canal and further block out noise.
—PC Magazine, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
Winn’s love of gardening began early, planting cotton seeds for an elementary school project and helping his grandmother shell butterbeans on her porch.
—Lila Hempel-Edgers, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2025
Eyewitnesses reported tanks had entered a neighborhood on the city's northern edge late Tuesday and shelled houses, wounding several people and forcing many others to move deeper into the city.
—Molly Hunter, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shell
Noun
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Although police recovered an ample sample from the snap on the sheath, Kohberger's DNA wasn't in the government's Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS, because he hadn't been implicated in any prior crimes.—
Michael Ruiz , Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, minimalist sheaths, à la Altuzarra and Alberta Ferretti, play up the sophisticated sheen of satin.—
Rosie Jarman,
Vogue,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Traditional data lakes can store raw data at scale but lack quality controls, while warehouses enforce structure but struggle with unstructured or fast changing data.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Leaders who can diagnose feedback loops, surface mental models and align vision with structure will turn collaboration from aspiration into execution.—
Thomas Lim,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Under those sturdy leather exteriors, a Gore-tex liner keeps you high and dry, preventing water from entering while shedding unwanted moisture.—
Alice Bennett,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Sep. 2025
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Sailing yacht designer Malcolm McKeon Yacht Design is responsible for the exterior.—
Katia Damborsky,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Invita Cafe, a San Diego coffee shop, is being scrutinized and review-bombed on social media for pro-Charlie Kirk posts and products as part of a broader national response on both sides of the political aisle to last week's assassination of the conservative commentator.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Forget the marketing campaign that bombed.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The messages on the bullet casings also included a mix of memes and allusions to video games.—
Dalia Faheid,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
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The Republican governor cited as evidence engravings on bullet casings found in the rifle that authorities believe was used in the attack, as well as messages attributed to the suspect that a roommate shared with law enforcement.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Even when using global providers like Microsoft, governance frameworks must be built to manage the trade-off between convenience and control.—
Francois Botha,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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The results, obtained at the US Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, provide a new framework for studying the proton’s internal structure.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But these figures only scratch the surface of Nepal’s deep economic problems, which include pervasive vulnerable employment – informal and insecure work that is prone to poor conditions and pay – and limited opportunities that constrain long-term productivity.—
Nir Kshetri,
The Conversation,
14 Sep. 2025
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What could have been a transformative meditation on mourning too often slips into surface-level spectacle, leaving the audience to piece together meaning from a scattershot collage of influences.—
David Hochman,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ronson politely demurred the money twice until Combs barked at him with an expletive to take the money.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
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Some puppies raised around other barking dogs may start barking earlier, while others might never bark.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shell. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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