shell out

verb

shelled out; shelling out; shells out
: pay

Examples of shell out in a Sentence

we shelled out an obscene amount of money for those concert tickets
Recent Examples on the Web Besides playing host to major live acts, the annual festival has since 2001 staged artists with strong ties to Oakland, such as MC Hammer and Sheila E., in front of diverse crowds of longtime fans who otherwise couldn’t shell out the money for tickets. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 18 June 2024 The new Lego set is not cheap: Customers interested in building their own Notre-Dame will need to shell out $229.99. Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 June 2024 Taxpayers shelled out $191 billion to support them — combined, this was the largest bailout in American history — and for the past decade and a half the two institutions have been under government control. Judge Glock, National Review, 4 June 2024 Less than two weeks ago, South Korea’s finance minister said the country was preparing to shell out $7.3 billion for its chip sector, to keep up with the torrents of state funding that are flowing around the world. David Meyer, Fortune, 23 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for shell out 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shell out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shell out was in 1801

Dictionary Entries Near shell out

Cite this Entry

“Shell out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shell%20out. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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