as in to spend
to hand over or use up in payment
we shelled out an obscene amount of money for those concert tickets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shell out
Investors appeared wary of the company’s plan to shell out $200 billion in capital expenditures this year, focused mainly on data centers.
—
Alex Harring, CNBC, 6 Feb. 2026
But customers paying cash via TrumpRx will still shell out more than $1,500.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2026
The Pentagon has shelled out nearly $5 billion over the past year to spur mining.
—Didi Tang, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
The Pentagon has shelled out nearly $5 billion over the past year to spur mining.
—Didi Tang, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shell out
Alex Harring, CNBC, 6 Feb. 2026
But customers paying cash via TrumpRx will still shell out more than $1,500.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2026
The Pentagon has shelled out nearly $5 billion over the past year to spur mining.
—Didi Tang, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
The Pentagon has shelled out nearly $5 billion over the past year to spur mining.
—Didi Tang, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shell out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shell out
Verb
-
Harris, who spent part of his youth living on Navajo reservations where his mother was a teacher, took a Navajo Nation flag with him on the shuttle to raise awareness about issues faced by Native Americans.—
Arizona Republic,
AZCentral.com,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The writer Michael Wolff, meanwhile — the only journalist to have written about spending extensive time with Epstein — appears in the files sharing a draft of a profile with Epstein, and thanking him for a pair of shoes.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Judges in counties with the program have a list of OFR attorneys who can be contacted and paid through legislative appropriations, rather than through court funds.—
Raynee Howell,
Oklahoma Watch,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Anderson paid tribute to the assistant director Adam Somner, who died in 2024 at 57 from thyroid cancer.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In his note, Mish and other UBS analysts lay out a baseline scenario in which borrowers of leveraged loans and private credit see a combined $75 billion to $120 billion in fresh defaults by the end of this year.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
-
On the table, lay out index cards, ribbon, and markers.—
Kylie Petty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shell out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shell%20out. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
