ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired from a large gun
"The naval artillery officer adjusted the settings to fire a shell at the distant enemy cruiser."
the material that forms the hard outer covering of many animals
"The turtle pulled its body inside to protect itself from predators using its hard shell."
the hard usually fibrous outer layer of some fruits especially nuts
"The monkey cracked open the coconut shell to reach the sweet meat inside."
a rigid covering that envelops an object
"the satellite is covered with a smooth shell of ice"
a very light narrow racing boat
"The team launched their new shell onto the lake to compete in the sprint race."
the hard largely calcareous covering of a mollusc or a brachiopod
"The hermit crab abandoned its old shell to find a larger, more protective home among the rocks."
A hard external covering of an animal.
"The crab quickly retracted into its hard shell to protect itself from predators."
The calcareous or chitinous external covering of mollusks, crustaceans, and some other invertebrates.
"The crab retreated into its hard shell when it sensed danger."
In plain English: A shell is an empty outer covering that protects something inside, like a nut or a crab.
"The crab scuttled sideways to protect its soft body inside its hard shell."
Usage: Use "shell" to refer specifically to the hard protective case found on animals like clams, crabs, and turtles. When referring to removing this covering from food items such as nuts or eggs, use it as a verb meaning to take off the outer layer.
hit the pitches of hard and regularly
"He shelled the pitcher for eight runs in the first inning"
look for and collect shells by the seashore
"After walking along the sandy beach, we filled our buckets with colorful shells we had collected from the shore."
To remove the outer covering or shell of something.
"The children spent hours sitting on the beach, carefully cracking open and removing shells from the crabs they caught."
In plain English: To shell something means to remove its hard outer covering so you can get to what's inside, like peeling an orange or cracking open nuts.
"She carefully shelled the peas before adding them to the soup."
A surname.
"The new girl at school is a shell, which everyone thought was short for Michelle."
A diminutive of the female given name Michelle.
The word "shell" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)kelH-, which meant "to split or cleave." It entered English through Old and Middle Germanic languages to describe a hard outer covering that splits away from what it encloses.