shell
verb/ʃel/
/ʃel/
Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they shell | /ʃel/ /ʃel/ |
| he / she / it shells | /ʃelz/ /ʃelz/ |
| past simple shelled | /ʃeld/ /ʃeld/ |
| past participle shelled | /ʃeld/ /ʃeld/ |
| -ing form shelling | /ˈʃelɪŋ/ /ˈʃelɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] shell (something) to fire shells at something
- They shelled the city all night.
- Just as they were leaving, the rebels started shelling.
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- [transitive] shell something to remove the shell or outer layer from nuts, peas, etc.
Word OriginOld English scell (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schel ‘scale, shell’, also to scale ‘thin plates that cover the skin of many fish and reptiles’. The verb dates from the mid 16th cent. in sense (2).
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shell