to shell
- verb
- /ʃɛl/
- "I did not come here to shell peas," he said, looking up.
Her mother always beside him, shelling fava beans or peeling beets.
- Her mother always beside him, shelling fava beans or peeling beets.
- You can let them mature and you can shell them as well.
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
Remove the outer skin from a fruit or vegetable before eating
Remove the outer covering from food like corn or shellfish
To remove seeds from fruit or vegetables
To remove the outer covering from seeds, nuts, or fruit
To remove the dry outer covering from seeds or corn
To remove the outer shell from seeds and grains like rice or beans
To remove seeds from their shell
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
To become more confident and willing to talk to other people
- Informal
To become quiet and avoid talking to others when you feel shy or anxious
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Specialized
A metal object fired from a large gun that often has an explosive inside
- Specialized
A small case filled with many small metal balls that is fired from a shotgun
- Specialized
A company that exists only on paper and has no real business used to hide ownership or move money
- Archaic
A severe emotional and physical reaction after a long time in war or heavy fighting
A cheating street game where someone hides an object under cups and makes people guess where it is
A hard outer part of a sea animal that people use for decoration or to add calcium to soil
- Specialized
A group of electrons that surround an atom's centre at the same energy level
A crab that has a hard outer covering because it has not recently shed its skin
A fan-shaped shell with lines from the middle to the edge often used as a symbol
- Specialized
A sea animal with eight overlapping hard plates that clings to rocks
- Specialized
A sea animal with two shells and two arm-like parts with tentacles for feeding
- Specialized
A smooth rounded sea snail shell with a small top often found on sandy beaches
- Specialized
A sea animal that has a long thin shell open at both ends and a foot for digging in sand
- Specialized
A company that exists only on paper and has no real business often used to hide money
A tropical plant with large shiny leaves and white flowers with pink and yellow spots
- Australian
A small Australian parrot often bright green with black and yellow spots that people keep as a colorful pet
- Specialized
Metal plates that form the outside of a steel ship like planks on a wooden ship
- Jargon
A crochet pattern where several loops are made in one place to form a fan shape
- US
A colorful plant that grows in marshes with waxy long leaves and pink and white flowers
- Archaic
A small fast bomb fired from a gun that makes a loud whistling sound and then explodes with a bang
How Clean
Surface Forms
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.