Background for shells

shells

/ʃɛlz/

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noun

A hard external covering of an animal.

Examples :

"The turtle's shells protect it from danger. "

animal nature biology

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noun

The hard calcareous covering of a bird egg.

Examples :

"After the baby birds hatched, the nest was full of broken egg shells. "

animal bird biology

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noun

One of the outer layers of skin of an onion.

Examples :

"The restaurant served caramelized onion shells."

vegetable plant part

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noun

The hard external covering of various plant seed forms.

Examples :

"My daughter loves to crack open sunflower shells to get to the seeds inside. "

plant seed biology

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noun

The accreted mineral formed around a hollow geode.

Examples :

"The geode in the science class display case had beautiful, colorful shells. "

geology mineral material

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noun

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

Examples :

"The soldiers loaded the shells into the artillery gun, preparing for the attack. "

military weapon

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noun

Examples :

"The artillerymen loaded the shells into the mortar, ready to fire at the enemy fortifications. "

military weapon war

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noun

The cartridge of a breechloading firearm; a load; a bullet; a round.

Examples :

"The hunter bought two boxes of shotgun shells for the hunting trip. "

military weapon technical

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noun

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

Examples :

"The construction workers left the shells of the new houses standing overnight, ready to be filled in with walls and roofs tomorrow. "

structure architecture building

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noun

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.

Examples :

"My daughter wore a simple white shell under her blazer to the office today. "

wear style appearance

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noun

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

Examples :

"The family chose a beautiful outer coffin, but the funeral director explained that the body would first be placed inside one of the simple, inexpensive shells before being put in the main coffin. "

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noun

A string instrument, as a lyre, whose acoustical chamber is formed like a shell.

Examples :

"The first lyre may have been made by drawing strings over the underside of a tortoise shell."

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noun

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.

Examples :

"The drum maker carefully sanded the shells before adding the hardware and drumheads. "

music part structure material

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noun

An engraved copper roller used in print works.

Examples :

"The printer used several different shells to create the intricate patterns on the invitation. "

machine technology industry

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noun

The thin coating of copper on an electrotype.

Examples :

"The printing plates were made by electrotyping, resulting in metal shells of copper over a wax mold. "

material chemistry technical

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noun

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

Examples :

"The boat's shells were damaged after hitting the rocks, causing a leak. "

nautical vehicle sailing technology

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noun

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

Examples :

"The sailor carefully inspected the shells of the block and tackle system to ensure they were strong enough to lift the heavy sail. "

nautical sailing technical part structure

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noun

A light boat whose frame is covered with thin wood, impermeable fabric, or water-proofed paper; a racing shell or dragon boat.

Examples :

"The student rowed in a racing shell during the school's annual regatta. "

nautical vehicle sport sailing

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noun

A set of atomic orbitals that have the same principal quantum number.

Examples :

"In chemistry class, we learned that atoms have electrons arranged in different shells around the nucleus. "

physics chemistry energy

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noun

The outward form independent of what is inside.

Examples :

"The abandoned building's shells stood for years after the fire, offering no hint of the vibrant businesses that once filled them. "

nature material animal

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noun

The empty outward form of someone or something.

Examples :

"The setback left him a mere shell; he was never the same again."

appearance body person

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noun

An emaciated person.

Examples :

"After battling a long illness, many of the patients in the ward were merely shells of their former selves. "

appearance body person

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noun

A psychological barrier to social interaction.

Examples :

"After years of being bullied, he developed shells that made it difficult for him to trust and connect with new people. "

mind attitude character emotion

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noun

Examples :

"The name "Bash" is an acronym which stands for "Bourne-again shell", itself a pun on the name of the "Bourne shell", an earlier Unix shell designed by Stephen Bourne, and the Christian concept of being "born again"."

computing technology technical system machine internet device

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noun

A legal entity that has no operations.

Examples :

"A shell corporation was formed to acquire the old factory."

business finance law economy organization

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noun

A concave rough cast-iron tool in which a convex lens is ground to shape.

Examples :

"The lens maker carefully rubbed the glass blank against the shells, gradually shaping it into the perfect curve for the telescope lens. "

material utensil technology

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noun

A gouge bit or shell bit.

Examples :

"The woodworker used a set of shells to carve the intricate details into the curved chair legs. "

utensil machine technical

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noun

The onset and coda of a syllable.

Examples :

"The linguist explained that the "shells" of the syllable "bat" are the "b" and "t" sounds, as they frame the vowel. "

phonetics language linguistics

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noun

A person's ear.

Examples :

"Can I have a quick word in your shell?"

body organ part anatomy

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verb

To remove the outer covering or shell of something.

Examples :

"We need to shell the peas before we can cook them. "

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verb

To bombard, to fire projectiles at, especially with artillery.

Examples :

"The army began to shell the enemy's base across the river. "

military war weapon action

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verb

To disburse or give up money, to pay. (Often used with out).

Examples :

""We had to shell out a lot of money for my daughter's new braces." "

business finance economy

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verb

To fall off, as a shell, crust, etc.

Examples :

"After a bad sunburn, my skin started to shell off my back. "

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verb

To cast the shell, or exterior covering; to fall out of the pod or husk.

Examples :

"Nuts shell in falling."

biology plant agriculture

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verb

To switch to a shell or command line.

Examples :

"After the graphical interface crashed, the technician had to shell to troubleshoot the system using command-line tools. "

computing technology

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verb

To form shallow, irregular cracks (in a coating).

Examples :

"The old paint on the wooden fence began to shell after years of sun and rain, revealing the bare wood underneath. "

material technical appearance

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verb

To form a shelling.

Examples :

"The snails in the garden are starting to shells themselves, preparing for winter. "

military weapon war