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
Powe still comes by once a week to drop off snacks for kids in the hotel — chips, cookies, jerky, fruit snacks, Little Debbie’s, whatever is on sale — shelling out about $100 or more of her own money every week doing so.
—
Josh Wood, The Courier-Journal, 29 Aug. 2025
Despite extra caution, parents are still shelling out for the new school year.
—Emily Lorsch, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
Waiting in overnight lines to buy the $30 mischievous dolls, or shelling out $100 to resellers, has lost its appeal.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
While that lineup is enticing customers, Rocco is seeing the luxury market beginning to hold back from shelling out on big purchases.
—Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025
Meta has been shelling out big bucks to recruit top AI talent away from rivals such as OpenAI, Google and Apple for its new Meta Superintelligence Labs team.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
That hit would come after several years of the city shelling out millions more in pension contributions to prevent the funds from cannibalizing their own assets.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
Among the concerns about the project, which is planned to the southeast of Chatfield Reservoir, is how much the county might end up shelling out and how much private partners will benefit.
—John Aguilar, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2025
Josh Wood, The Courier-Journal, 29 Aug. 2025
Despite extra caution, parents are still shelling out for the new school year.
—Emily Lorsch, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
Waiting in overnight lines to buy the $30 mischievous dolls, or shelling out $100 to resellers, has lost its appeal.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
While that lineup is enticing customers, Rocco is seeing the luxury market beginning to hold back from shelling out on big purchases.
—Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025
Meta has been shelling out big bucks to recruit top AI talent away from rivals such as OpenAI, Google and Apple for its new Meta Superintelligence Labs team.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
That hit would come after several years of the city shelling out millions more in pension contributions to prevent the funds from cannibalizing their own assets.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
Among the concerns about the project, which is planned to the southeast of Chatfield Reservoir, is how much the county might end up shelling out and how much private partners will benefit.
—John Aguilar, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shelling out
Verb
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Even after spending £420m, Liverpool are arguably a little light in a couple of areas.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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Enyedi shifts between the three storylines at will, sometimes spending several minutes in one only to cut to another for a few seconds and then over to the third.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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See the pet in person before paying any money.—
Abreanna Blose,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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Other revenue sources include federal and local money, with the remainder from paying fares.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The European Commission said Google favored its own online display services, giving its ad exchange, AdX, a central role in the adtech supply chain.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Sep. 2025
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The YouTube cameras caught Kelce giving some tough love to Taylor, which involved a small head-butt and loud words.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shelling out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shelling%20out. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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