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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shell out
Higher global energy prices could lead to consumers paying more for gasoline at the pump and shelling out more for groceries and other goods, at a time when many are already feeling the impacts of elevated inflation.
—
Cathy Bussewitz, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
Higher global energy prices mean consumers will pay more for gasoline at the pump and have to shell out more for groceries and other goods at a time when many are already feeling the impacts of elevated inflation.
—ABC News, 1 Mar. 2026
Denver shelled out over $138 million to bring tackle Mike McGlinchey and guard Ben Powers into the fold in 2023 free agency.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 28 Feb. 2026
Unless that little red dot is very dear to your heart, there’s not quite enough reason to shell out extra for it — but mostly because the 17 Ultra is such a good phone in its own right.
—Dominic Preston, The Verge, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shell out
Cathy Bussewitz, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
Higher global energy prices mean consumers will pay more for gasoline at the pump and have to shell out more for groceries and other goods at a time when many are already feeling the impacts of elevated inflation.
—ABC News, 1 Mar. 2026
Denver shelled out over $138 million to bring tackle Mike McGlinchey and guard Ben Powers into the fold in 2023 free agency.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 28 Feb. 2026
Unless that little red dot is very dear to your heart, there’s not quite enough reason to shell out extra for it — but mostly because the 17 Ultra is such a good phone in its own right.
—Dominic Preston, The Verge, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shell out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shell out
Verb
-
Provost has asked managers to spend most of their time there, leaving some of them frustrated, the people said.—
Albertina Torsoli,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Due to the 2024 hot fire test incident, the German launch startup spent 18 months conducting a comprehensive technical overhaul to ensure mission success.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Tech giants are buying up memory chips like never before, and paying a premium for multiyear contracts.—
Nasteho Said,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
-
This should be exciting news for the 1 in 6 Americans who deal with infertility, especially those without health insurance or paying out-of-pocket because of inadequate coverage.—
Anna Moeslein,
Glamour,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Perhaps a reasonable guideline is to have the municipality lay out the original cash to build a public facility, such as a parking lot or a toll road, and have the users pay a fee for the operation and maintenance of the facilities.—
Harvey Levine,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
-
In his note, Mish and other UBS analysts lay out a baseline scenario in which borrowers of leveraged loans and private credit see a combined $75 billion to $120 billion in fresh defaults by the end of this year.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shell out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shell%20out. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
