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shellfire

American  
[shel-fahyuhr] / ˈʃɛlˌfaɪər /

noun

Military.
  1. the firing of explosive shells or projectiles.


shellfire British  
/ ˈʃɛlˌfaɪə /

noun

  1. the firing of artillery shells

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of shellfire

First recorded in 1855–60; shell + fire

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One truck was hit by shellfire, which the UN says came from an Israeli naval craft.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2024

An official at Ukraine’s atomic energy company said that international inspectors should visit the Zaporizhzhia power plant, where shellfire damaged a nuclear fuel storage facility.

From New York Times • Aug. 9, 2022

When shellfire eases, she ventures out with her husband, Volodymyr, 57, a railway worker who acts as the block’s handyman, to an abandoned home to make meals on a brick grill.

From Reuters • May 20, 2022

KIEV, Ukraine — On a warm afternoon in Ukraine’s breakaway east, as the front line rumbled with only occasional shellfire, Stanislav Aseev, a 27-year-old undercover journalist, was heading home to Donetsk.

From Washington Post • Jun. 23, 2017

Under shellfire he wouldn’t bring his kitchen up near enough, so that our soup-carriers had to go much farther than those of the other companies.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque