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
Under the rules, Sasaki's contract will likely land in the $5 million range and cannot exceed a seven-figure sum, in contrast with the $325 million, 12-year deal the Dodgers shelled out to land Yamamoto last year.
—
Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos shell out millions to join Trump’s inner circle
Niall Stanage and Amber Duke discuss how billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg compete for Donald Trump’s attention.
—The Hill, 13 Dec. 2024
As of mid-December, FEMA shelled out $1.1 billion for Floridians who were victims of hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton, according to an agency spokesperson.
—Lawrence Mower, Orlando Sentinel, 27 Dec. 2024
To revamp the historic venue, Carvalho and his friends sunk their savings into the place, took on mountains of yet-unpaid debt, and shelled out about $25,000 for engineering studies and soundproofing to comply with local laws.
—Katie Thornton, Rolling Stone, 20 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shell out 
Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos shell out millions to join Trump’s inner circle
Niall Stanage and Amber Duke discuss how billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg compete for Donald Trump’s attention.
—The Hill, 13 Dec. 2024
As of mid-December, FEMA shelled out $1.1 billion for Floridians who were victims of hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton, according to an agency spokesperson.
—Lawrence Mower, Orlando Sentinel, 27 Dec. 2024
To revamp the historic venue, Carvalho and his friends sunk their savings into the place, took on mountains of yet-unpaid debt, and shelled out about $25,000 for engineering studies and soundproofing to comply with local laws.
—Katie Thornton, Rolling Stone, 20 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shell out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shell out
Verb
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The life story of author Horatio Alger, born on January 13, 1832, spent decades shrouded in misconception.—
Teresa Nowakowski,
Smithsonian Magazine,
13 Jan. 2025
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In general, brain rot can also refer to surrealist content created to entertain people whose attention spans have presumably withered away thanks to time spent scrolling, or to a state of general onlineness that has rewired one’s mind.—
Kaitlyn Tiffany,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Amazon agreed to pay $1 billion a year to secure the rights to NFL Thursday Night Football back in 2021.—
Alex Cranz,
WIRED,
21 Jan. 2025
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Eventually, the cumulative toll of Russia’s war economy will need to be paid.—
Alexandra Prokopenko,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Hauksbee laid out a practical 10-step approach to the research.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN,
18 Jan. 2025
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Even a stitched wound of this size laid out in a bathroom for a week would almost certainly become horribly infected.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
18 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near shell out
Cite this Entry
“Shell out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shell%20out. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
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