1
: purified lac usually prepared in thin orange or yellow flakes by heating and filtering and often bleached white
2
: a preparation of lac dissolved usually in alcohol and used chiefly as a wood filler and finish
3
a
: a composition containing shellac formerly used for making phonograph records
b
: an old 78 rpm phonograph record
shellacked; shellacking
1
: to coat or otherwise treat with shellac or a shellac varnish
2
: to defeat decisively
Synonyms
Examples of shellac in a Sentence
Verb
the local football team was shellacked 35-0 in their final outing for the season
Recent Examples on the Web
Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024
That hardened shell is what is harvested to make shellac.
—Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
Why that 22-10 win feels like such a harbinger – Harbinger? – of what could come, continuing in Charlotte on Sunday against the already-hapless Carolina Panthers, victims of a 47-10 Week 1 shellacking by the New Orleans Saints.
—Mirjam Swanson, Orange County Register, 13 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shellac 
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Noun
Confectioner's glaze, also known as shellac, is made from lac-resin — a waxy, waterproof coating that the female lac bug produces for protection.
—Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024
That hardened shell is what is harvested to make shellac.
—Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024
Verb
Our protagonists can’t like each other too much at the start: Oliver (Darren Criss, as shellacked as a brunette Ken doll, with similarly hinged joints) is a Helperbot 3, an older model of a popular line of humanoid robots that are essentially Jeeves powered by battery.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
Why that 22-10 win feels like such a harbinger – Harbinger? – of what could come, continuing in Charlotte on Sunday against the already-hapless Carolina Panthers, victims of a 47-10 Week 1 shellacking by the New Orleans Saints.
—Mirjam Swanson, Orange County Register, 13 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shellac
Dictionary Entries Near shellac
Cite this Entry
“Shellac.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shellac. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shellac
1 of 2 noun
shel·lac
shə-ˈlak 
1
: purified lac
2
: a preparation of lac dissolved in alcohol and used as a wood filler or finish
shellac
2 of 2 verb
shellacked; shellacking
: to coat or treat with shellac
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