Nutshell Meaning
/ˈnʌt.ʃɛl/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut.
nounA short book summarizing an area of law.
Sentence Examples
I don't really like him, in a nutshell, I think he is an idiot.
"So, that's what happened to Tom's squirrel?" "Yes, in a nutshell."
The universe in a nutshell: I am consciousness.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He crushed the hard ____ of the walnut with a nutcracker to get the kernel.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
To put it in a ____, the main problem with the plan is the lack of funding.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English notschelle, from Old English hnutsċiell, from Proto-West Germanic *hnutskallju, equivalent to nut + shell. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Nuteskele, Nuteskil (“nutshell”), Dutch notenschaal (“nutshell”), German Nussschale (“nutshell”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[A]t last the fishing-line stood straight out behind, and the stone weights jumped along the tops of the billows, while the seas - notwithstanding the guiding hand of the pilot sought to avoid them - broke over our little nutshell, and sent the spray high above mast and sail."
— 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 182:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
He crushed the hard ____ of the walnut with a nutcracker to get the kernel.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
To put it in a ____, the main problem with the plan is the lack of funding.