nutshell

[ nuht-shel ]

noun

1. the shell of a nut.

nutshell

/ ˈnʌtˌʃɛl /

noun

1. the shell around the kernel of a nut
2. in a nutshell
   in essence; briefly

Word History and Origins

Origin of nutshell¹

1175–1225; Middle English nutescell; nut, shell

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in a nutshell, in very brief form; in a few words:

   Just tell me the story in a nutshell.

More idioms and phrases containing nutshell

see in a nutshell .

Example Sentences

White’s warning is, in a nutshell: “It’s not for everyone.”

From Los Angeles Times

Trump ally and fellow Hitler-praiser Nick Fuentes illustrated this "childish kings" view of manhood in a nutshell in a recent tweet: "If Trump loses, blame women."

From Salon

In a nutshell, that’s the premise of my new film “The Man Card: 50 Years of Gender, Power and the American Presidency.”

From Salon

Bases advanced, in a nutshell, are total bases: a single counts as one, a double as two, a triple as three and a home run as four.

From Los Angeles Times

In a nutshell, if you won you've got a great chance of going through.

From BBC

Related Words

• curtail
• cut
• cut down
• diminish
• dwindle
• knock off
• lessen
• lower
• pare
• scale down
• shorten
• slash
• trim
• weaken