as in to spend
to hand over or use up in payment
we shelled out an obscene amount of money for those concert tickets
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Recent Examples of shell out
In other security news, OpenAI is ditching passwords in favor of hardware security keys, which is a welcome change considering how valuable ChatGPT accounts can be, especially for those willing to shell out money for pro-level accounts.
—
Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 1 May 2026
Mark Davis paid $2 million for Vegas, while the group led by Larry Gottesdiener shelled out $5 million.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 1 May 2026
The costs of chips are rising as tech giants shell out billions on computing power.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Ultimately, taxpayers will be the ones to shell out tens of millions of dollars more to fight summer wildfires this year.
—Austin Amestoy, NPR, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shell out
Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 1 May 2026
Mark Davis paid $2 million for Vegas, while the group led by Larry Gottesdiener shelled out $5 million.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 1 May 2026
The costs of chips are rising as tech giants shell out billions on computing power.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Ultimately, taxpayers will be the ones to shell out tens of millions of dollars more to fight summer wildfires this year.
—Austin Amestoy, NPR, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shell out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shell out
Verb
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Two years ago, the firm had just a dozen customers who were spending more than a million dollars each with it on an annual basis.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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Derek McCracken spent nearly a decade teaching agriculture in Ohio before launching The Owl’s Nest to give fellow educators ready-to-use classroom resources that actually inspire students.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
3 May 2026
Verb
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The fine points of class-action law were, of course, less influential than Crenshaw’s insistence on paying close attention to the way Black women were treated by the courts, and the essay’s most memorable lines were broader categorical claims.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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Americans are paying more for food, fuel, housing, and healthcare, while government grows larger, less accountable, and less competent.—
Kevin Fixler
May 3,
Idaho Statesman,
3 May 2026
Verb
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Defense filings in the New York case lay out Dukes’ path into the music industry.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
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These documents lay out a violent encounter, step by step.—
Shelley Bortz,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shell out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shell%20out. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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