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shell out

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shell out (an amount of money)

to spend a certain amount of money. I'm not going to shell out $400 for that! Come on. You owe me. Shell out!

See also: out, shell

shell out something

to pay money The insurance giant estimates that in Texas alone it will have to shell out $85 million to settle these claims. How much does the company expect to shell out for a solution to the problem?

Usage notes: usually said about large amounts of money

See also: out, shell

shell out

Pay, hand over, as in We had to shell out $1,000 for auto repairs. This expression transfers taking a seed such as a pea or nut out of its pod or shell to taking money out of one's pocket. [Colloquial; c. 1800]

See also: out, shell

shell out

v.

To pay some amount of money, often reluctantly: I had to shell out $500 on car repairs. We had to shell the full amount of tuition out even though many of the classes had been canceled.

See also: out, shell

shell out

verb

See shell out an amount of money

See also: out, shell