as in paid
to hand over or use up in payment
we shelled out an obscene amount of money for those concert tickets
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Recent Examples of shelled out
The Wave shelled out a roughly $300,000 transfer fee to bring Macario over this month before her contract expires this summer, one of the people said.
—
Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 16 Mar. 2026
Payton said multiple times around the season’s end that Denver had too many drops in the passing game, but the Broncos haven’t shelled out in an inflated receiver market to fix that.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026
Even though Diane Bricker doesn’t live in her Ocean City, New Jersey, condo during the winter, the retiree shelled out $698 last month for electricity to keep the heat at 55 degrees and to power the refrigerator.
—Tami Luhby, CNN Money, 12 Feb. 2026
Then the company shelled out $35 million on the theatrical marketing spend, an unprecedented sum considering documentaries aren’t traditionally a driver of big box office dollars.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 11 Feb. 2026
The Pentagon has shelled out nearly $5 billion over the past year to spur mining.
—Didi Tang, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
The Pentagon has shelled out nearly $5 billion over the past year to spur mining.
—Didi Tang, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
His organization has shelled out over $1 billion in aid to Ukraine, as well as large sums for agricultural development in Africa, and Central and South America.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2026
Hyperscalers Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft have shelled out billions on AI products, tools and infrastructure for their customers.
—Samantha Subin, CNBC, 12 Jan. 2026
Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 16 Mar. 2026
Payton said multiple times around the season’s end that Denver had too many drops in the passing game, but the Broncos haven’t shelled out in an inflated receiver market to fix that.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026
Even though Diane Bricker doesn’t live in her Ocean City, New Jersey, condo during the winter, the retiree shelled out $698 last month for electricity to keep the heat at 55 degrees and to power the refrigerator.
—Tami Luhby, CNN Money, 12 Feb. 2026
Then the company shelled out $35 million on the theatrical marketing spend, an unprecedented sum considering documentaries aren’t traditionally a driver of big box office dollars.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 11 Feb. 2026
The Pentagon has shelled out nearly $5 billion over the past year to spur mining.
—Didi Tang, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
The Pentagon has shelled out nearly $5 billion over the past year to spur mining.
—Didi Tang, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
His organization has shelled out over $1 billion in aid to Ukraine, as well as large sums for agricultural development in Africa, and Central and South America.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2026
Hyperscalers Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft have shelled out billions on AI products, tools and infrastructure for their customers.
—Samantha Subin, CNBC, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shelled out
Verb
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The authority would be allowed to appoint an executive director, who would serve at the pleasure of the board and receive a salary paid out of the Chiefs’ annual rent payments.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2026
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The latest Fubo lineup deals come as the teams behind RSNs continue to eye streaming platform options as the traditional pay TV bundle — where RSNs were bundled into basic cable packages and subscribers paid for the channel — continues to decline amid cord-cutting.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The complaint says Heifler spent weeks discussing the plot with the undercover law enforcement official, and at one point went to scope out Kiswani's home.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
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Aaron spent long hours at his computer answering queries, fixing bugs, and releasing updates to serve his growing base.—
Oriana van Praag,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shelled out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shelled%20out. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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