shell out

Questions about shell out

What does shell out mean?

shell out means "administer or bestow, as in small portions".

What is another word for shell out?

Close synonyms include distribute, administer, mete out, deal, parcel out. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is shell out a common word?

shell out is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.