Citations:shell

Noun
The calcareous or chitinous external covering of mollusks, crustaceans, and some other invertebrates.
 * 1911, Francis Hobart Herrick, Natural History of the American Lobster, page 209:
 * If the shell of the lobster which is nearly ready to molt is removed, there will be seen two glistening snow-white masses, one on either side of the stomach.
 * 2000, Sue Fox, Hermit Crabs: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual, page 21:
 * However, when a crab is frightened and quickly withdraws deep into its shell, a large portion of the water can seep out.

The hard calcareous covering of a bird egg.
 * 1875, Popular Science, Vol. 6, No. 33, March 1875, page 634:
 * The partisans of spontaneous generation look on such cases as that as an argument in their favor, supposing the shell of an egg to be quite impermeable to germs derived from without.
 * 2012, Hervé This, Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor, page 137:
 * Place a whole fresh egg in its shell in vinegar. After two days or so, the shell will be dissolved by the vinegar, and you will see the yolk floating on top of the white.

(entomology) The exoskeleton or wing covers of certain insects.
 * 2012, Eric Nylund, The Resisters, page 97:
 * The beetle's stubby black wings folded under its shell like Japanese origami.

The covering, or outside part, of a nut.
 * 2010, Joseph Canisius Dias, Dona Paula, page 74:
 * The locals roasted these on an open fire till the shells were black, and cracked the shell to extract the white edible nut from inside.

A pod containing the seeds of certain plants, such as the legume Phaseolus vulgaris.
 * 2011, Diane Phillips, The Easy Pressure Cooker Cookbook, page 151:
 * Presoaking cleans the outer shell of the bean of any dirt or grit and also softens the shell, speeding up the cooking time and giving you creamier beans.

(in the plural) Husks of cacao seeds, a decoction of which is sometimes used as a substitute or adulterant for cocoa and its products such as chocolate.
 * 1960, Frederick Hardy, Cacao Manual, page 376:
 * The quantity of crisp shell in roasted cacao is about 12 percent and of germs, about one percent.

The conjoined scutes that comprise the "shell" (carapace) of a tortoise or turtle.
 * 1997, Gerry Spence, Win Your Case, page 195:
 * The biological advantage they provide, like the speed of the antelope or the shell of the turtle, is to aid the individual to survive.

The overlapping hard plates comprising the armor covering the armadillo's body.
 * 1993, Dee Stuart, The Astonishing Armadillo, page 36:
 * Although the shell cannot protect the armadillo from the teeth of large animals, it is important because it enables the animal to plunge into dense brush or thickets where other animals can't penetrate.

The accreted mineral formed around a hollow geode.
 * 2008, Theresa Flores Geary, The Illustrated Bead Bible: Terms, Tips & Techniques, page 138:
 * A geode's outer shell is often composed of limestone or related rock, and the crystals inside, quartz or chalcedony; however, the crystals may be of any kind.

The casing of a self-contained single-unit artillery projectile.

A hollow usually spherical or cylindrical projectile fired from a siege mortar or a smoothbore cannon. It contains an explosive substance designed to be ignited by a fuse or by percussion at the target site so that it will burst and scattered at high velocity its contents and fragments. Formerly called a bomb.

The cartridge of a breechloading firearm; a load; a bullet; a round.
 * 2011, Richard L. Smith, Powerless, page 161:
 * Yet, when I came out to the farm later that day to look for evidence, I found five recently fired shell casings on and around the porch.

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

A garment, usually worn by women, such as a shirt, blouse, or top, with short sleeves or no sleeves, that often fastens in the rear.
 * 2002, Susan Wales, The Art of Romantic Living: Simple Touches to Enhance Everyday Life, page 246:
 * Wear your two-piece suit with a silk or knit blouse or a shell and a stacked heel.

A coarse or flimsy coffin; a thin interior coffin enclosed within a more substantial one.

(music) A string instrument, as a lyre, whose acoustical chamber is formed like a shell.
 * The first lyre may have been made by drawing strings over the underside of a tortoise shell.

(music) The body of a drum; the often wooden, often cylindrical acoustic chamber, with or without rims added for tuning and for attaching the drum head.

An engraved copper roller used in print works.

(nautical) The watertight outer covering of the hull of a vessel, often made with planking or metal plating.

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

(nautical) A light boat the frame of which is covered with thin wood, impermeable fabric, or water-proofed paper; a racing shell or dragon boat.
 * 1921, Harvard Alumni Bulletin, Volume 24, Part 1, page 413:
 * Oxford objected to racing a shell which did not carry a coxswain, and Harvard thereupon agreed to carry one.

(computing) An operating system software user interface, whose primary purpose is to launch other programs and control their interactions; the user's command interpreter.

(chemistry) A set of atomic orbitals that have the same principal quantum number.
 * 2003, Richard Z. Zimmermann, An Amateur's Guide to Particle Physics: A Primer for the Lay Person, page 86:
 * Electrons could jump from one shell to another by the absorption or emission of a photon of energy; but could not and did not exist in the space between the shells.

An emaciated person.
 * 19994, Tabor Evans, Longarm and the Bounty Hunters, page 62:
 * The old man had probably once been a tall and rather commanding figure, but now he was just a shell of a human being.

A psychological barrier to social interaction.
 * 2010, Janette Rucker, The Millionairist, page 50:
 * At forty-two Lillie was finally coming out of her shell now that she had started working and interacting with people.

(business) A legal entity that has no operations.

Verb
To remove the outer covering or shell of something.
 * 1994, Charles R. Santerre, Pecan Technology, page 50:
 * It is a measure of productivity of an orchard and relates to the ease with which a sheller can shell the pecans.

To bombard, to fire projectiles at.
 * 2011, Glenn R. Iriam, In the Trenches 1914 - 1918, page 163:
 * While we were sheltered in the dugout at the battery fritz began to shell it with a heavy gun

(informal) To disburse or give up money, to pay. (Often used with out).
 * 2011, Bridget McCrea, Stephen Spignesi, Second Homes for Dummies, page 77:
 * These rates are used to calculate how much a property owner must shell out annually to cover the costs of public schools, libraries, and government services.

(intransitive) To fall off, as a shell, crust, etc.
 * 1881, The Building News and Engineering Journal, Volume 40, page 315:
 * Should frost penetrate the mortar of a building, causing it to shell or fall off the face, will the mortar set again in the wall.
 * 1922, State Plant Board of Florida, The Monthly Bulletin of the State Plant Board of Florida, page 98:
 * As a rule, however, infected berries have a tendency to shell or fall off at the slightest jar, even early in the course of the decay while the berries are still plump and juicy.

(intransitive) To cast the shell, or exterior covering; to fall out of the pod or husk.
 * 1985, Organic Gardening, Volume 32, page 127:
 * Dry black walnuts or hickory nuts will shell a lot more easily if you wet them before cracking.