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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shelling out
While young players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and others are fighting for better pay for their industry-shifting work, college football programs are shelling out $40 million to $50 million payouts to get their underperforming coaches to stop showing up to the office.
—
J.j. Bailey, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
Other fast food chains have noted the emergence of a two-tier economy—of high-income earners shelling out for meals, while low-income earners tighten their belts.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2025
Upwards of 7m Americans are climbers, with many shelling out more than $1k per year for climbing gym memberships.
—Kelli María Korducki, HubSpot, 17 Oct. 2025
That would be one of the biggest buyouts in the history of college football behind Texas A&M shelling out $77 million to Jimbo Fisher in 2023.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 12 Oct. 2025
As its software spills into more areas of online life, OpenAI is shelling out billions to become a leading player in the physical infrastructure for the AI future.
—Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
The news raised questions over the significant sums that American tech companies are shelling out on AI.
—Ashley Capoot,samantha Subin, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2025
Both of these should be included when shelling out that kind of cash, in my opinion.
—New Atlas, 19 Sep. 2025
On average, families are now shelling out $774 per child for back-to-school gear — marking a 10% rise from last year’s spending.
—Katie Wiseman, IndyStar, 15 Sep. 2025
J.j. Bailey, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
Other fast food chains have noted the emergence of a two-tier economy—of high-income earners shelling out for meals, while low-income earners tighten their belts.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2025
Upwards of 7m Americans are climbers, with many shelling out more than $1k per year for climbing gym memberships.
—Kelli María Korducki, HubSpot, 17 Oct. 2025
That would be one of the biggest buyouts in the history of college football behind Texas A&M shelling out $77 million to Jimbo Fisher in 2023.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 12 Oct. 2025
As its software spills into more areas of online life, OpenAI is shelling out billions to become a leading player in the physical infrastructure for the AI future.
—Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
The news raised questions over the significant sums that American tech companies are shelling out on AI.
—Ashley Capoot,samantha Subin, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2025
Both of these should be included when shelling out that kind of cash, in my opinion.
—New Atlas, 19 Sep. 2025
On average, families are now shelling out $774 per child for back-to-school gear — marking a 10% rise from last year’s spending.
—Katie Wiseman, IndyStar, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shelling out
Verb
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Brown’s descendants, and their spouses, are responsible for pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the community and spending countless hours serving on local nonprofit boards.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
26 Oct. 2025
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The Blackhawks are still spending more time in the defensive zone and less time in the offensive zone compared to other NHL teams.—
Scott Powers,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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On average, paying cash for care could be cheaper especially with lower-cost options like telemedicine and urgent care.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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With Apple Intelligence still months away from broad rollout and upgrade elasticity weakening, investors may be paying a premium for a business entering a slower-growth phase.—
Tony Zhang,
CNBC,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The Chinese leader then toured the vessel, including inspecting the mess hall and giving a trial press of the ship’s catapult button, according to CCTV.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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At Tesla’s annual meeting on Thursday, shareholders voted in favor of giving CEO Musk a gargantuan, record-shattering pay package that could give him stock worth $1 trillion after several years.—
Geoff Colvin,
Fortune,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shelling out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shelling%20out. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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