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shell

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of shell

1 something that encloses another thing especially to protect it

  • eating oysters straight out of their shells
Synonyms of shell

armor, capsule, case, casing, cocoon, cover, covering, encasement, housing, hull, husk, jacket, pod, sheath
Words Related to shell

cartridge, cassette (also casette)

bark, crust

carapace, house, mail, panoply, plate, plating, shield

cuticle, hide, skin

envelope, package, wrapper

backing, coating, coverture, facing

2 the arrangement of parts that gives something its basic form

  • workers at the shipyard have thus far erected the shell of the ship
Synonyms of shell

architecture, armature, cadre, configuration, edifice, fabric, frame, framework, framing, infrastructure, skeleton, structure
Words Related to shell

cage, lattice, network

contour, figure, outline, profile, shape, silhouette

chassis

3 an outer part or layer

  • the shell of the building is all glass, making it conspicuous on a street with mostly limestone facades
Synonyms of shell

exterior, face, outside, skin, surface, veneer
Words Related to shell

facade (also façade), front, top

cover, covering, facing

appearance, disguise, guise, mask, semblance, show
Antonyms of shell

inside, interior

shell

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of shell

1 to remove the natural covering of

  • shelling peanuts
Synonyms of shell

bark, flay, hull, husk, peel, shuck, skin
Words Related to shell

bare, denude, expose, scale, strip

pare

2 to use bombs or artillery against

  • the enemy shelled the city for days without letup
Synonyms of shell

batter, blitz, blitzkrieg, bomb, bombard, cannonade
Words Related to shell

enfilade

rake, strafe

assail, assault, attack, devastate, hit, pound, ravage, strike

Learn More about shell

  1. See words that rhyme with shell Dictionary: Definition of shell Spanish Central: Translation of shell Nglish: Translation of shell for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of shell for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shell

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