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shelling out

verb

present participle of shell out
as in spending
to hand over or use up in payment we shelled out an obscene amount of money for those concert tickets

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 shelling out This could add up fast for Gen Zers already shelling out money for tuition. — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026 But shelling out the dough doesn’t automatically grant access; potential members are vetted through a rigorous application process. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026 That’s the standard that USC was expecting in shelling out over $11 million per year to its football coach. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026 Per Lambrook’s official website, Middleton and William will be shelling out a tuition cost of £11,176, or $15,144, for Charlotte and £10,270, or $13,917, for Louis, per term. — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 15 Sep. 2026 After shelling out more than $5 billion to support LIV, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund with $900 billion assets under management pulled back on its financial support this past April. — Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 8 Sep. 2026 If your crew wants one big memorable activity (and doesn't mind shelling out some dough), this is it. — Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026 Elena Chertovskikh | Istock Editorial | Getty Images Even if vacationers continue shelling out, higher costs for a discretionary experience like travel could weigh on their psyche, according to Brian LeBlanc, PNC’s senior economist. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026 My family has managed to avoid shelling out thousands for travel teams so far, because sports are supposed to be fun … right? — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shelling out
  1. spending
  2. paying
  3. giving
Verb
  • Recording a good voiceover can mean finding a narrator, booking studio time, or spending hours trying to get a usable take yourself.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Campaign The two candidates are spending millions of dollars to get elected, and the money is apparent with the high frequency of television commercials, sometimes as often as four times per hour on one station.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of spending
Verb
  • Lee’s fiction, like 19th-century novels, seeks to engender sympathy by paying close attention to the lives of many varied characters.
    — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • That raised their borrowing costs — the US will spend more money this year paying interest on the national debt than on its military — which leaves less to cushion the economic fallout.
    — Jake Angelo, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of paying
Verb
  • Cassavetes played up the conflicting feelings on set and exacerbated them by giving Rowlands and Cassel contradictory directions that constantly set the actors against each other.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Post Malone and Morgan Wallen trade blame over bright guitars and driving percussion, giving the song a playful tension that keeps it moving.
    — Brittney Williams, Billboard, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of giving

Browse Nearby Words

shelling
shelling out
shell out
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Cite this Entry

“Shelling out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shelling%20out. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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