as in to spend
to hand over or use up in payment
we shelled out an obscene amount of money for those concert tickets
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shell out
Hyperscalers plan to shell out a combined total of roughly $725 billion on AI this year.
—
Ian King, Fortune, 20 May 2026
At least those of us viewing at home didn’t shell out big money (and wait in LA traffic) to see this joke of a match in person.
—Marlow Stern, Variety, 17 May 2026
High gas prices hit American wallets immediately, and big signs with $4 gas plastered all over town serve as a constant reminder about how much folks have to shell out for fuel.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 14 May 2026
But electronics are hardly the reason someone would shell out $500,000 on this motorcycle.
—New Atlas, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for shell out
Ian King, Fortune, 20 May 2026
At least those of us viewing at home didn’t shell out big money (and wait in LA traffic) to see this joke of a match in person.
—Marlow Stern, Variety, 17 May 2026
High gas prices hit American wallets immediately, and big signs with $4 gas plastered all over town serve as a constant reminder about how much folks have to shell out for fuel.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 14 May 2026
But electronics are hardly the reason someone would shell out $500,000 on this motorcycle.
—New Atlas, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for shell out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shell out
Verb
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Robert had spent the last few years accruing credit card points—more on that below—in the hopes of planning a blowout honeymoon experience for the wanderlusting couple, who had previously traveled together to romantic destinations like Japan and the south of France.—
Kaitlin Menza,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 June 2026
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Grown-ups bring a ladder to climb into the enormous fruit, kids gather up their inflatable toys, someone makes a waterslide out of a piece of rind, and the whole community spends the day splashing in the juice and pulp (being careful to remove the seeds first).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
Verb
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The row between crypto companies and banks came down to whether those offering stablecoin accounts should be able to pay interest on deposits like traditional bank accounts, with banking groups warning that the stability of the financial system could be undermined as people move their money.—
Billy Bambrough,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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To pay for her medical bills, the family had to sell most of their remaining cattle and goats, a bitter blow after years of drought had already decimated local herds.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
31 May 2026
Verb
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The advisory suggests that parents create family media plans that lay out exactly how and when screens can be used in the home and urges health care providers to ask patients about their screen use.—
Claire Cameron,
Scientific American,
20 May 2026
-
That’s when Johnson leans on Troup to play narrator and lay out the details of the investigation.—
Jake King-Schreifels,
Time,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shell out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shell%20out. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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