shell

noun (COVERING)

/ʃel/

Definition

1. Definition

2. Practise

B2 [C or U] the hard outer covering of something, especially nuts, eggs, and some animals: Brazil nuts have very hard shells. A piece of shell fell into the cake mixture. the shell of a snail/crab/tortoise a shell necklace (= a piece of jewellery made out of the shells of small sea creatures) → See also eggshell, nutshell, seashell, shellfishThe skin, hair and bone of non-human animalsFruits and seeds and their parts › [C] the basic outer structure of a building or vehicle, especially when the parts inside have been destroyed or taken or have not yet been made: the shell of a burned-out farmhouseFrames and structuresThe exterior of vehiclesParts of aeroplanes

(Definition of shell noun (COVERING) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

You are looking at an entry to do with The skin, hair & bone of non-human animals, but you might be interested in these topics from the Animal anatomy topic area: