I.
noun
1 on eggs/nuts/some animals
ADJECTIVE
▪ empty , hard , outer , protective , thick
▪
She had built up a protective ~ around herself. ( figurative )
▪ broken
▪ egg (usually eggshell )
▪ sea (usually seashell )
▪ conch , cowrie , mussel , oyster , snail , tortoise (usually tortoiseshell )
▪ coconut , peanut , walnut
VERB + SHELL
▪ have
▪
creatures that have ~s
▪ come out of , emerge from ( both often figurative )
▪
He's really come out of his ~ since he met Marie.
▪ go (back) into , retreat into , withdraw into ( all often figurative )
▪
The snail went back into its ~.
▪ remove sth from
▪
Remove the mussels from their ~s.
▪ break (open) , crack (open)
▪ shed
▪
Male crabs shed their ~s twice a year.
2 explosive weapon
ADJECTIVE
▪ unexploded
▪ spent
▪
a heap of spent brass ~s from a machine gun
▪ anti-aircraft , artillery , cannon , mortar , shotgun , tank
▪ depleted uranium , high-explosive
▪
tank-busting guns that fired depleted uranium ~s
▪ incoming
▪
The telltale sound of an incoming ~ was heard.
VERB + SHELL
▪ load
▪ fire
SHELL + VERB
▪ fly
▪
A ~ flew over his head and exploded in front of him.
▪ fall , land
▪ burst , crash , explode
▪ hit sth , strike sth
▪
Two ~s hit the roof.
SHELL + NOUN
▪ fire
▪
They braved heavy ~ fire to rescue the wounded.
▪ shock
▪
soldiers suffering from ~ shock
▪ case , casing , fragments , splinter
▪ crater
3 outer walls of a building
ADJECTIVE
▪ concrete
▪ burned-out , empty , hollow ( all often figurative )
▪
The fire reduced the school to a hollow ~.
▪
I had become a hollow ~.
II.
verb
Shell is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ nut , ↑ pea