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to shell

to shell

7 2.1
To remove the hard outer covering from nuts, peas, or seafood
  • verb
  • /ʃɛl/
: pelar
  • "I did not come here to shell peas," he said, looking up.

Her mother always beside him, shelling fava beans or peeling beets.

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Examples

  • Why does he help me shell the peas and stick the fork in the sausages?

  • We sat around the sink and shelled two bags of jumbo shrimp.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I think I will go outside and sit on the lawn and shell peas.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Then I went back to the screen porch and started shelling beans again.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • "I have never seen anyone shell peas like this," Jada said after a while.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Some folks would be sitting under shade trees in their yards, maybe shelling lima beans.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I remember she was shelling purple-hulled peas at the time, watching TV.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Well, I've spent hours watching the Nature Channel... while shelling fava beans.

  • They haven't shelled a peanut since Monday!

  • After the storm, we had to shell the fresh peas for dinner.

Synonyms

to peel
vsto shell
177 1.0

Remove the outer skin from a fruit or vegetable before eating

is used for hard outer coverings like those on nuts or seafood
to shuck
vsto shell
15 6.4

Remove the outer covering from food like corn or shellfish

is used for many foods not only corn or seafood
to seed
vsto shell
  • Specialized
7 3.5

To remove seeds from fruit or vegetables

focuses on removing outer coverings not extracting inner parts
to husk
vsto shell
2 3.9

To remove the dry outer covering from seeds or corn

is used for more kinds of food beyond grains and corn
to hull
vsto shell
1 5.5

To remove the outer covering from seeds, nuts, or fruit

is broader and also used for nuts peas and seafood
to dehull
vsto shell
  • Specialized
1 7.2

To remove the outer shell from seeds and grains like rice or beans

is used more widely and also applies to seafood and nuts
to pod
vsto shell
6.1

To remove seeds from their shell

focuses on removing outer coverings rather than taking out seeds

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

To put something over another thing to protect or hide it

Idioms

1 5.2

Served on the bottom shell only without the top shell

To become more confident and willing to talk to other people

7.7

To become quiet and avoid talking to others when you feel shy or anxious

Phrasal Verbs

to shell out
  • Informal
33 7.1

Pay a large amount of money even when you do not want to

Compounds

shell shock
  • Archaic
20 7.5

A severe emotional and physical reaction after a long time in war or heavy fighting

artillery shell
  • Specialized
11 7.5

A metal object fired from a large gun that often has an explosive inside

10 8.8

A cheating street game where someone hides an object under cups and makes people guess where it is

10 4.6

A shell cut in half that serves as a dish for oysters or clams

shotgun shell
  • Specialized
9 3.8

A small case filled with many small metal balls that is fired from a shotgun

shell corporation
  • Specialized
6 7.4

A company that exists only on paper and has no real business used to hide ownership or move money

6 2.9

A hard outer part of a sea animal that people use for decoration or to add calcium to soil

A crab with a soft new shell that people often eat whole

tank shell
  • Specialized
2 6.2

A metal explosive shot from a tank's main gun

2 1.6

A baked or unbaked pastry crust that holds the filling of a pie

1 5.2

A bean you take from its pod before cooking, usually soft and not fully ripe

A crab that has a hard outer covering because it has not recently shed its skin

A small broken piece of a shell from an egg or sea animal

A fan-shaped shell with lines from the middle to the edge often used as a symbol

electron shell
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A group of electrons that surround an atom's centre at the same energy level

gas shell
  • NSFW
1 8.6

An explosive fired from a cannon that releases poisonous gas when it explodes

1 7.9

A large sea snail with a flat, shiny shell eaten as food

1 5.8

A bean plant grown for the seeds that people eat, picked when ripe but not dry

shell entity
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A company that exists only on paper and has no real business often used to hide money

1 7.9

A short waist-length jacket worn by military officers at formal dinners

1 6.1

A North American clam with a thick hard shell that is eaten as food

A hobby of collecting and studying sea shells

star shell
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A small signal fired into the air that bursts to light an area at night

1 9.9

A tropical plant with large shiny leaves and white flowers with pink and yellow spots

bubble shell
  • Specialized
1 8.9

A small sea snail with a thin round shell like a bubble

A small sea animal with a thin fragile shell that people eat

1 9.9

A colorful plant that grows in marshes with waxy long leaves and pink and white flowers

tusk shell
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small sea animal with a long tube-shaped shell open at both ends

sugar shell
  • Archaic
1 5.1

A small spoon with a bowl like a shell used to serve sugar

1 5.2

A very light long narrow boat that people row in competitions

moon shell
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A smooth rounded sea snail shell with a small top often found on sandy beaches

1 6.1

A small hollow pastry case that holds savory or sweet fillings

shell stitch
  • Jargon
1 6.7

A crochet pattern where several loops are made in one place to form a fan shape

blank shell
  • Specialized
1 6.2

A metal case for a gun that contains gunpowder but no bullet

tooth shell
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A sea animal that has a long thin shell open at both ends and a foot for digging in sand

lamp shell
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A sea animal with two shells and two arm-like parts with tentacles for feeding

1 7.7

To make crochet rows or edges that form fan shapes

coat-of-mail shell
  • Specialized
9.9

A sea animal with eight overlapping hard plates that clings to rocks

9.8

A sea animal with a heavy ridged shell in two parts that people sometimes eat

A tropical sea snail with long curved spines around the shell opening

A plant that farmers grow for its edible bean seeds rather than its pod

shell parakeet
  • Australian
6.0

A small Australian parrot often bright green with black and yellow spots that people keep as a colorful pet

shell plating
  • Specialized
7.9

Metal plates that form the outside of a steel ship like planks on a wooden ship

single shell
  • Jargon
7.2

A narrow boat for one person who rows

whizbang shell
  • Archaic
9.9

A small fast bomb fired from a gun that makes a loud whistling sound and then explodes with a bang

How Clean

to clean
∞ 1.0
to rinse
82 1.0
to devein
  • Specialized
2 9.1
to shell
7 2.1
to leave
∞ 1.6

Surface Forms

shell infinitive
shelled past
shelled past participle
shelling present participle
shells third person singular

Etymology

Shell (to remove a covering) comes directly from the noun shell meaning 'cover', so to shell is to take off that hard case from nuts, peas, or seafood.