as in spends
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 shells out
Google already shells out billions to Apple each year to be the default search engine on iPhones.
—
Samantha Subin, CNBC, 27 Jan. 2026
Samantha Subin, CNBC, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shells out
Verb
-
The mother spends her waking hours working on other people’s farms and performing tasks the neighbors prefer not to do themselves.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
-
My daughter calls me a creative engineer, someone who spends her life creatively thinking about ways to provide live experiences that offer joy and beauty, or maybe more importantly, that challenge us to see things differently.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
The developer later trimmed the number of homes to 99 and agreed that no building permits will be issued until American Homes 4 Rent pays for and installs a traffic light at nearby Faith and Shearer roads.—
Joe Marusak
May 27,
Charlotte Observer,
27 May 2026
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The stadium is being built to make Sacramento a turnkey market for promotion out of the USL, which plays in smaller stadiums of roughly 10,000 fans across the country and pays players a fraction of MLS payrolls.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Here, again, Ukraine’s drone ministry to other countries gives it geopolitical clout across the globe.—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
-
Army officials think this feature gives commanders more time to decide what to do during fast-moving situations.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
25 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shells out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shells%20out. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
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