Shell

[ʃel] or [ʃɛl]

Definition

(noun.) the hard largely calcareous covering of a mollusc or a brachiopod.

(noun.) ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired from a large gun.

(noun.) the housing or outer covering of something; 'the clock has a walnut case'.

(noun.) a very light narrow racing boat.

(noun.) a rigid covering that envelops an object; 'the satellite is covered with a smooth shell of ice'.

(noun.) the exterior covering of a bird's egg.

(noun.) the hard usually fibrous outer layer of some fruits especially nuts.

(noun.) the material that forms the hard outer covering of many animals.

(verb.) remove from its shell or outer covering; 'shell the legumes'; 'shell mussels'.

(verb.) look for and collect shells by the seashore.

(verb.) hit the pitches of hard and regularly; 'He shelled the pitcher for eight runs in the first inning'.

(verb.) fall out of the pod or husk; 'The corn shelled'.

Checker: Otis--From WordNet

Definition

(n.) A hard outside covering, as of a fruit or an animal.

(n.) The covering, or outside part, of a nut; as, a hazelnut shell.

(n.) A pod.

(n.) The hard covering of an egg.

(n.) The hard calcareous or chitinous external covering of mollusks, crustaceans, and some other invertebrates. In some mollusks, as the cuttlefishes, it is internal, or concealed by the mantle. Also, the hard covering of some vertebrates, as the armadillo, the tortoise, and the like.

(n.) Hence, by extension, any mollusks having such a covering.

(n.) A hollow projectile, of various shapes, adapted for a mortar or a cannon, and containing an explosive substance, ignited with a fuse or by percussion, by means of which the projectile is burst and its fragments scattered. See Bomb.

(n.) The case which holds the powder, or charge of powder and shot, used with breechloading small arms.

(n.) Any slight hollow structure; a framework, or exterior structure, regarded as not complete or filled in; as, the shell of a house.

(n.) A coarse kind of coffin; also, a thin interior coffin inclosed in a more substantial one.

(n.) An instrument of music, as a lyre, -- the first lyre having been made, it is said, by drawing strings over a tortoise shell.

(n.) An engraved copper roller used in print works.

(n.) The husks of cacao seeds, a decoction of which is often used as a substitute for chocolate, cocoa, etc.

(n.) The outer frame or case of a block within which the sheaves revolve.

(n.) A light boat the frame of which is covered with thin wood or with paper; as, a racing shell.

(v. t.) To strip or break off the shell of; to take out of the shell, pod, etc.; as, to shell nuts or pease; to shell oysters.

(v. t.) To separate the kernels of (an ear of Indian corn, wheat, oats, etc.) from the cob, ear, or husk.

(v. t.) To throw shells or bombs upon or into; to bombard; as, to shell a town.

(v. i.) To fall off, as a shell, crust, etc.

(v. i.) To cast the shell, or exterior covering; to fall out of the pod or husk; as, nuts shell in falling.

(v. i.) To be disengaged from the ear or husk; as, wheat or rye shells in reaping.

Typist: Robinson

Synonyms and Synonymous

n. [1]. Case, capsule, outer covering.[2]. Bomb, hollow ball.[3]. Frame-work.[4]. Lyre, stringed instrument.

v. a. [1]. Take out of the shell, strip the shell from, hull.[2]. Bombard.

v. n. Exfoliate, fall off, peel off, shell off.

Inputed by Davis

Definition

n. a term applied to the hard outer covering or skeleton of many animals to the internal skeleton of some invertebrates and to the outer covering-of the eggs of various animals: any framework: the outer ear: a testaceous mollusc: any frail structure: a frail boat: a rough kind of coffin: an instrument of music: a bomb: a hollow projectile containing a bursting charge of gunpowder or other explosive ignited at the required instant by means of either time or percussion fuses: the thin coating of copper on an electrotype: an intermediate class in some schools.—v.t. to break off the shell: to remove the shell from: to take out of the shell: to throw shells or bombs upon to bombard.—v.i. to fall off like a shell: to cast the shell.—ns. Shellac (she-lak′ shel′ak) Shell′-lac lac prepared in thin plates for making varnish &c.—v.t. to coat with shellac.—ns. Shell′-back an old sailor a barnacle; Shell′-bark either of two North American hickories.—adj. Shelled having a shell testaceous.—ns. Shell′er one who shells or husks; Shell′fish a popular term for many aquatic animals not fishes esp. oysters clams and all molluscs and crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters; Shell′-gun a cannon used for throwing shells esp. horizontally: Shell′-heap a prehistoric accumulation of shells &c. pointing back to a race that lived on shellfish; Shell′-ice ice no longer supported by the water beneath; Shell′-jack′et an undress military jacket; Shell′-lime lime procured from the shells of shellfish by burning; Shell′-lime′stone a limestone largely consisting of shells; Shell′-marl a white earthy deposit resulting from the accumulation of fragments of shells; Shell′-mound a shell-heap; Shell′-or′nament decoration in which any shell-form is prominent.—adj. Shell′proof proof against or able to resist shells or bombs.—ns. Shell′-room a magazine on board ship where shells are stored; Shell′-sand sand consisting in great part of fragments of shells and often containing a small proportion of organic matter a very useful manure for clay soils heavy loams and newly-reclaimed bogs; Shell′work work composed of or adorned with shells.—adj. Shell′y consisting of a shell: testaceous.—Shell out (slang) to hand over as money.

Inputed by Betty