Synonyms of shell out

shell out

verb

as in to spend

to hand over or use up in payment

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spend
• pay
• lay out
• give
• fork (over, out, or up)
• expend
• disburse
• outlay
• drop
• run through
• throw away
• rain
• lavish
• waste
• fritter (away)
• blow
• dissipate
• squander

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• save
• lay up
• make
• realize
• secure
• win
• acquire
• gain
• cache
• hoard
• earn
• procure
• garner

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shell out

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

My family has managed to avoid shelling out thousands for travel teams so far, because sports are supposed to be fun … right? — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026

Getting there would require Congress to fund the design of the project in 2028 and then continue shelling out cash for waves of construction for more than a decade afterward. — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

The Malian cost Brentford just £37million from French club Lens – half the £75m Spurs shelled out for Fernandes and just over a third of Tonali’s fee. — Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026