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shell
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- pronunciation:
- shel
- parts of speech:
- noun, verb
- features:
- Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
A shell is a hard thing that covers certain animals that live in the sea or in water. Animals like clams, scallops, and snails grow shells around themselves to protect their bodies. All their lives, these animals continue to grow their shells. When an animal like this dies, its shell becomes empty, but sometimes other types of sea animals use it to hide or live in themselves.
The beach we went to had many empty shells washed up on the shore.
- similar words:
- shield
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| definition 2: |
Some animals, like chickens, are born inside a thin, hard "shell." The shell is a kind of container all around the baby, and the baby must break it open when it is ready to come out into the world. Baby birds and reptiles grow inside shells.
When we visited that farm, we got to watch baby chicks hatching from their shells.Dylan tried to crack an egg into a bowl, but some of the shell fell in with it.
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| definition 3: |
A shell is the hard outside part of the bodies of some animals. Turtles, lobsters, crabs, and beetles have a shell that is part of their body.
When Jermaine got close to the turtle, its head and legs disappeared inside its shell.
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| definition 4: |
A shell is a hard, or somewhat hard, natural container that protects a nut, or something like a nut such as a peanut.
The nuts were still in their shells, so we had to break them open.
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| definition 5: |
A shell is something used in a cannon or large gun.
Many shells were fired but some did not explode. |
| related words: |
missile, outside |
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| part of speech: |
verb |
| inflections: |
shells, shelling, shelled |
| definition: |
When you shell something, you remove its shell, usually so that you can eat it.
We shelled the whole bag of nuts. |
| derivations: |
shell-less (adj.), shell-like (adj.) |
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