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to shell

to shell

27 7.9
To fire metal containers filled with explosives at a place or people to cause damage
  • verb
  • /ʃɛl/
translation icon : bombardear
  • The old city was shelled from land, sea, and air.
  • shell a city
  • shell an area

Now, call me old fashioned, but once you're shelling, that's pretty much direct military action.

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Examples

  • Chinese troops shelled Quemoy in 1958 and again in 1962.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The soldiers began to shell the enemy positions with heavy artillery fire.

  • They'll shell us from both sides.

  • British and American ships have been shelling the city.

  • If the town is not surrendered in two days' time, it will be shelled.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Orphanages and hospitals are being shelled daily.

  • Admiral Trost was so angry he was ready to shell the port of Haifa.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • French forces shell Damascus, bombarding the Syrian parliament and surrounding neighborhoods.

  • Hamas' armed wing claims to have shelled "the occupied city of Tel Aviv."

    Blog text (14)
  • The Serb forces had appropriated the same tactics used earlier in Croatia: shelling cities and civilians.

    Academic text (1998)

Synonyms

to bomb
vsto shell
300 3.1

To attack a place by dropping explosive devices from planes

is done by firing explosive rounds from guns rather than dropping devices
to blast
vsto shell
137 4.9

To break rock or walls using explosives to make an opening

is an attack firing explosive rounds at places rather than just causing openings
to bombard
vsto shell
13 5.4

To attack something repeatedly by throwing things like stones or bombs

is the specific firing of explosive rounds at people or places
to machine-gun
vsto shell
10 7.4

Shoot many bullets very quickly at someone or something

is done by firing explosive rounds from artillery not by rapid automatic guns
to firebomb
vsto shell
  • Offensive
8 7.3

To attack a place by throwing a bomb that starts fires

is about firing explosive rounds rather than setting fires with incendiary devices
to blitz
vsto shell
1 7.4

To attack a place suddenly and heavily, often by bombing from planes

is carried out by firing explosive rounds from artillery rather than by air attacks
to cannonade
vsto shell
  • Formal
1 9.9

To attack a place with heavy guns like cannons for some time

is a concentrated firing of explosive rounds at a place
to cannon
vsto shell
6.5

To shoot heavy shells from a large gun

is similar but aims explosive rounds specifically at places or people
to fusillade
vsto shell
  • Literature
9.9

To fire a quick series of shots at someone or something

is broader and means firing explosive rounds at a place

Antonyms

1.3

To protect people and things from attack or harm

Idioms

To become more confident and willing to talk to other people

1 7.7

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

1 5.2

Served on the bottom shell only without the top shell

Phrasal Verbs

to shell out
  • Informal
30 7.1

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

Compounds

artillery shell
  • Specialized
8 7.5

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

shotgun shell
  • Specialized
7 3.8

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

shell corporation
  • Specialized
7 7.4

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

shell shock
  • Archaic
5 7.5

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

4 8.8

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

3 4.6

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

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

2 2.9

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

1 1.6

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

tank shell
  • Specialized
1 6.2

A metal explosive shot from a tank's main gun

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

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

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

blank shell
  • Specialized
6.2

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

bubble shell
  • Specialized
8.9

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

coat-of-mail shell
  • Specialized
9.9

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

7.9

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

9.8

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

lamp shell
  • Specialized
9.9

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

moon shell
  • Specialized
8.2

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

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

A very light long narrow boat that people row in competitions

6.1

A small hollow pastry case that holds savory or sweet fillings

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

sugar shell
  • Archaic
5.1

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

tooth shell
  • Specialized
9.9

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

shell entity
  • Specialized
7.7

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

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

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

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

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

A hobby of collecting and studying sea shells

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

shell stitch
  • Jargon
6.7

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

7.7

To make crochet rows or edges that form fan shapes

9.9

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

single shell
  • Jargon
7.2

A narrow boat for one person who rows

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

star shell
  • Specialized
8.1

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

tusk shell
  • Specialized
9.9

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

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 Intense

to bombard
13 5.4
to shell
27 7.9
pound
15 4.7
to attack
1.3

Surface Forms

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

Etymology

Shell (to fire explosive rounds at a place) comes from the military meaning of shell; it means to send explosive 'cases' at a target, so to shell is to attack by firing those shells.