shell

Multiple Entries:
  shell    she'll  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
shell/ʃel/

▶noun

• 1 the hard protective outer case of a mollusc or crustacean.

  ■ the thin outer covering of a bird's or reptile's egg.

  ■ the outer case of a nut kernel or seed.

  ■ the carapace of a tortoise, turtle, or terrapin.

  ■ the wing cases of a beetle.

  ■ the integument of an insect pupa or chrysalis.

• 2 an explosive artillery projectile or bomb.

  ■ a hollow metal or paper case used as a container for fireworks, explosives, or cartridges.

  ■ N. Amer. a cartridge.

• 3 something resembling or likened to a shell, especially a hollow or outer case.

• 4 the walls of an unfinished or gutted building.

• 5 a light racing boat.

• 6 the metal framework of a vehicle body.

• 7 the hand guard of a sword.

• 8 Physics each of a set of orbitals in an atom, occupied by electrons of similar energies.

• 9 Computing short for shell program.

▶verb

• 1 bombard with shells.

• 2 remove the shell or pod from.

• 3 (shell something out) informal pay a specified amount of money, especially an amount regarded as excessive.

– phrases
come out of one's shell cease to be shy.

– derivatives
-shelled adjective,
shell-less adjective,
shell-like adjective,
shelly adjective.

– origin OE scell (n.), of Gmc origin; rel. to scale1.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
she'll/ʃiːl/

▶contraction she shall; she will.