noun
nutshell
NUHT-shehl
noun
1
The hard outer covering of a nut.
"She cracked the walnut and tossed the nutshell in the bin."
2
Used in "in a nutshell" to mean a very brief summary.
"In a nutshell, the deal fell through because of the price."
"Can you put the whole plan in a nutshell for me?"
How to Use Nutshell
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishLiterally the shell around a nut; figuratively, a short and to-the-point summary of something.
Common pairings
in a nutshell
crack a nutshell
Word Forms
nutshelled past tense, nutshells plural, nutshells singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “nutshell”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
She cracked the walnut and tossed the _____ in the bin.
Etymology
From Middle English notschelle, from Old English hnutu ("nut") plus sciell ("shell").