SHELL • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Shell

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Shell

noun

1.

Ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired from a large gun.

2.

The material that forms the hard outer covering of many animals.

3.

Hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as arthropods and turtles. Synonyms: carapace, cuticle, shield.

4.

The hard usually fibrous outer layer of some fruits especially nuts.

5.

The exterior covering of a bird's egg. Synonym: eggshell.

6.

A rigid covering that envelops an object.

7.

A very light narrow racing boat. Synonym: racing shell.

8.

The housing or outer covering of something. Synonyms: case, casing.

9.

A metal sheathing of uniform thickness (such as the shield attached to an artillery piece to protect the gunners). Synonyms: plate, scale.

10.

The hard largely calcareous covering of a mollusc or a brachiopod.

verb

(past & past part. shelled; pres. part. shelling)

1.

Use explosives on. Synonym: blast.

2.

Create by using explosives. Synonym: blast.

3.

Fall out of the pod or husk.

4.

Hit the pitches of hard and regularly.

5.

Look for and collect shells by the seashore.

6.

Come out better in a competition, race, or conflict. Synonyms: beat, beat out, crush, trounce, vanquish. "We beat the competition" , "Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game"

7.

Remove from its shell or outer covering. "Shell mussels"

8.

Remove the husks from. Synonym: husk.

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WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University

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"Shell" Quotes from Famous Books

... been carefully distributed between several firms of founders and engineers, in order that none could have any means of discovering the use to which they were intended to be put. The whole of the shell of the vessel was double, with a packed space between the two skins; and each door opened into a small lobby, having another door on the farther side, to ensure that every part might be kept perfectly ...

— To Mars via The Moon - An Astronomical Story • Mark Wicks

... cone-shaped shells adhering to the rocks. When she and Jean tried to pick the small creatures from their abiding places, the least touch or sound caused them to tighten to the boulders. It was impossible then to dislodge them without smashing the shell. ...

— Where the Sun Swings North • Barrett Willoughby

... a lute that was wrought of a shell Luminous as the shine Of a new-born star in a dewy dell,— And its strings were strands of wine That sprayed at the Fancy's touch and fused, As your listening spirit leant Drunken through with the airs that ...

— The Complete Works • James Whitcomb Riley

... Lake Asphaltites does not present any variety of fish. Mariti asserts that it produces none, and even that those which are carried into it by the rapidity of the Jordan perish almost immediately upon being immerged in its acrid waves. A few shell-snails constitute the sole tenants of its dreary shores, unmixed either with the helix or ...

— Palestine or the Holy Land - From the Earliest Period to the Present Time • Michael Russell

... doors were barred, and were locked by throwing a switch at the near end of the ranges; but any particular door could also be opened by a key. The cell doors of the inner structure were at a distance of some twenty feet from the walls and windows of the outer shell, and got what light and air they had from these—none too much of course. Also, the guard on duty in the range, if the weather be chilly, will close the windows, against the protests of the prisoners, and against the regulations too; ...

— The Subterranean Brotherhood • Julian Hawthorne

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