shelled out

verb

past tense of shell out
as in paid
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 shelled out That would be a strong result had Amazon MGM Studios not shelled out $40 million to buy the film and tens of millions more to market it. — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 4 Oct. 2026 The event, meant to bow in early December, historically has shelled out millions to lure top talent like Will Smith, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Williams and Halle Berry. — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026 The two favorites according to DraftKings—the Panthers and 2026 champion Carolina Hurricanes, each with +650 odds—haven’t shelled out big bucks to any players. — Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 29 Sep. 2026 The space agency shelled out billions of dollars to Boeing as well as SpaceX for ferry service once the space shuttles retired. — Marcia Dunn, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026 And Meta shelled out $14 billion in 2025 for a minority stake in Scale AI in a deal that brought in the startup’s founder, Alexandr Wang, to spin up a new AI division. — Kif Leswing, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2026 Per Deadline reporting, House of the Dragon cost nearly $200 million and was the subject of HBO’s biggest marketing campaign ever, valued at over $100M in media spend (that’s a combo of ad spot value and hard cash shelled out). — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2026 The Malian cost Brentford just £37million from French club Lens – half the £75m Spurs shelled out for Fernandes and just over a third of Tonali’s fee. — Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 The Salmonella Enteritidis Has Been Linked To Eggs The FDA has shelled out as well more info about the Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak infections that was first listed on the FDA website on June 10. — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shelled out
  1. paid
  2. spent
Verb
  • If those colonoscopies were done in an independent surgery center or physician’s office, insurers would have paid almost two-thirds less.
    — Bob Herman, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
  • In a rare show of unity, politicians from all ends of the fragmented political spectrum also paid tribute to the medieval ruler, listening to the national anthem and a 21-gun salute.
    — COSTAS KANTOURIS, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of paid
Verb
  • Messner was convicted of bankruptcy fraud in 1995 and spent about two years in prison.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
  • This is one of the newer segments to join Spotify, which has also been expanding from podcasting and music into fitness, in a push to increase customer stickiness and the time spent on the platform.
    — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of spent

Browse Nearby Words

shelled
shelled out
shell game
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shelled out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shelled%20out. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All