as in spending
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 shelling out
Most of us will watch the big game from our living rooms rather than shelling out thousands of dollars for a seat in Levi’s stadium.
—
Jason Corso, Fortune, 8 Feb. 2026
Otherwise, patients could wind up shelling out hundreds of dollars a month for medications without having that expense chip away at their annual deductibles, which could be thousands of dollars.
—Tami Luhby, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026
Everything seemed to go right for pro football last year, from notching a 10% year-over-year viewership gain to nail-biting finishes to the kind of unpredictability in team rankings that keeps fans glued to live telecasts and shelling out huge dollars to attend games.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 28 Jan. 2026
Musk warned Wall Street that as part of these plans, the company would be shelling out a lot of cash in the year ahead — an eye-popping $20 billion, more than double what the company spent on capital expenditures in 2025.
—Camila Domonoske, NPR, 28 Jan. 2026
Tech megacaps like Google and Meta are also sparing no expense, shelling out billions of dollars to hire AI researchers and tens of billions a year to build out massive data centers.
—Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 27 Jan. 2026
Miami is rumored to be interested in his services, and the Hurricanes are no strangers to shelling out lucrative deals to lure top passers.
—Arkansas Online, 24 Jan. 2026
In contrast, if players remain committed to ARC Raiders, a game that has extremely impressive player retention so far, shelling out $40 for a different extraction game may not be appealing.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
So, county leaders are shelling out money for hotel vouchers.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 21 Jan. 2026
Jason Corso, Fortune, 8 Feb. 2026
Otherwise, patients could wind up shelling out hundreds of dollars a month for medications without having that expense chip away at their annual deductibles, which could be thousands of dollars.
—Tami Luhby, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026
Everything seemed to go right for pro football last year, from notching a 10% year-over-year viewership gain to nail-biting finishes to the kind of unpredictability in team rankings that keeps fans glued to live telecasts and shelling out huge dollars to attend games.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 28 Jan. 2026
Musk warned Wall Street that as part of these plans, the company would be shelling out a lot of cash in the year ahead — an eye-popping $20 billion, more than double what the company spent on capital expenditures in 2025.
—Camila Domonoske, NPR, 28 Jan. 2026
Tech megacaps like Google and Meta are also sparing no expense, shelling out billions of dollars to hire AI researchers and tens of billions a year to build out massive data centers.
—Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 27 Jan. 2026
Miami is rumored to be interested in his services, and the Hurricanes are no strangers to shelling out lucrative deals to lure top passers.
—Arkansas Online, 24 Jan. 2026
In contrast, if players remain committed to ARC Raiders, a game that has extremely impressive player retention so far, shelling out $40 for a different extraction game may not be appealing.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
So, county leaders are shelling out money for hotel vouchers.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shelling out
Verb
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The fiscal angst is most obvious in urban school districts, where enrollment declines are most severe and where unions are the strongest, often spending heavily to elect friendly school board members.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
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Pritzker’s $56 billion election-year budget plan represents one of the smallest increases in state spending the governor has proposed since the governor took office in 2019.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The latest chapter in this endless epic belongs to Kansas State, which is trying to line item its way out of paying Jerome Tang the money the administration offered him.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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Purported ransom notes were sent to news outlets, but two deadlines for paying have passed.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Staff strike an easy balance, remaining accessible while still giving guests the space to enjoy the area’s quiet and calm.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Feb. 2026
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Again, the Dodgers have talked openly about giving him more days off, because everything with this organization centers on October.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shelling out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shelling%20out. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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