Skin vs. Shell — What's the Difference?

Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different developmental origin, structure and chemical composition. The adjective cutaneous means "of the skin" (from Latin cutis 'skin').

The hard protective outer case of a mollusc or crustacean

The thin layer of tissue forming the natural outer covering of the body of a person or animal

An explosive artillery projectile or bomb

The peel or outer layer of certain fruits or vegetables

Something resembling or likened to a shell because of its shape or its function as an outer case

A customized graphic user interface for an application or operating system.

The metal framework of a vehicle body.

A skinhead

A light racing boat.

(especially in jazz) a drum or drum head.

An inner or roughly made coffin.

Relating to or denoting pornographic literature or films

The hand guard of a sword.

A card game in which each player has one card which they bet will not be the first to be matched by a card dealt from the pack.

Each of a set of orbitals around the nucleus of an atom, occupied or able to be occupied by electrons of similar energies

A unit into which an Aboriginal people is divided, typically on the basis of descent, each skin being associated with a totemic bird, animal, or insect.

Short for shell program

Remove the skin from (an animal or a fruit or vegetable)

Bombard with shells

Take money from or swindle (someone)

Remove the shell or pod from (a nut or seed)

(of a wound) form new skin

The usually hard outer covering that encases certain organisms, such as insects, turtles, and most mollusks.

(of a player) take the ball past (a defender) with ease

A similar outer covering on a nut or seed.

Make a cannabis cigarette

A similar outer covering on certain eggs, such as those of birds and reptiles; an eggshell.

The membranous tissue forming the external covering or integument of an animal and consisting in vertebrates of the epidermis and dermis.

The material that constitutes such a covering.

An animal pelt, especially the comparatively pliable pelt of a small or young animal

An external, usually hard, protective or enclosing case or cover.

A usually thin, closely adhering outer layer

A framework or exterior, as of a building.

A thin, close-fitting, usually elastic garment, especially a shirt, worn by scuba divers and others who engage in water sports for protection against scrapes and other superficial injuries.

A thin layer of pastry.

A container for liquids that is made of animal skin.

The external part of the ear.

(Music) A drumhead.

The hull of a ship.

One of a pair of strips of fabric or other material temporarily applied to the undersides of a pair of skis to provide traction while ascending slopes.

A light, long, narrow racing boat propelled by rowers.

(Computers) A design layout for the interface of a program such as a media player or instant messaging application that a user can select and often customize in order to alter the default appearance.

A small glass for beer.

(Informal) One's life or physical survival

An artillery projectile containing an explosive charge.

To remove skin from

A metal or cardboard case containing the charge and primer for a piece of firearms ammunition, especially one also containing shot and fired from a shotgun.

To bruise, cut, or injure the skin or surface of

An attitude or a manner adopted to mask one's true feelings or to protect one from perceived or real danger

To remove (an outer covering); peel off

A set of electron orbitals having nearly the same energy and sharing the same first quantum number.

To cover with a skin or a similar layer

Any of the stable states of other particles or collections of particles (such as the nucleons in an atomic nucleus) at a given energy or small range of energies.

(Slang) To fleece; swindle.

A usually sleeveless and collarless, typically knit blouse.

To become covered with skin or a similar layer

A thin, usually waterproof or windproof outer garment for the upper body.

To pass with little room to spare

(Computers) A program that works with the operating system as a command processor, used to enter commands and initiate their execution.

Of, relating to, or depicting pornography

A company or corporation created by a second company or corporation for the purposes of facilitating a particular transaction, especially one that is intended to be concealed.

(uncountable) The outer protective layer of the body of any animal, including of a human.

To remove the shell of; shuck

(uncountable) The outer protective layer of the fruit of a plant.

To remove from a shell

(countable) The skin and fur of an individual animal used by humans for clothing, upholstery, etc.

To separate the kernels of (corn) from the cob.

(countable) A congealed layer on the surface of a liquid.

To fire shells at; bombard.

A set of resources that modifies the appearance and/or layout of the graphical user interface of a computer program.

To defeat decisively.

An alternate appearance (texture map or geometry) for a character model in a video game.

(Baseball) To hit the pitches of (a pitcher) hard and with regularity

Rolling paper for cigarettes.

To shed or become free of a shell.

Clipping of skinhead

To look for or collect shells, as on a seashore

(Australia) A subgroup of Australian aboriginal people; such divisions are cultural and not related to an individual′s physical skin.

A hard external covering of an animal.

(slang) Bare flesh, particularly bare breasts.

The calcareous or chitinous external covering of mollusks, crustaceans, and some other invertebrates.

A vessel made of skin, used for holding liquids.

(by extension) Any mollusk having such a covering.

(nautical) That part of a sail, when furled, which remains on the outside and covers the whole.

(entomology) The exoskeleton or wing covers of certain insects.

(nautical) The covering, as of planking or iron plates, outside the framing, forming the sides and bottom of a vessel; the shell; also, a lining inside the framing.

The conjoined scutes that constitute the "shell" (carapace) of a tortoise or turtle.

(aviation) The outer surface covering much of the wings and fuselage of an aircraft.

The overlapping hard plates comprising the armor covering the armadillo's body.

A drink of whisky served hot.

The hard calcareous covering of a bird egg.

A purse.

One of the outer layers of skin of an onion.

(transitive) To injure the skin of.

(botany) The hard external covering of various plant seed forms.

(transitive) To remove the skin and/or fur of an animal or a human.

The covering, or outside part, of a nut.

(colloquial) To high five.

A pod containing the seeds of certain plants, such as the legume Phaseolus vulgaris.

To apply a skin to (a computer program).

(in the plural) Husks of cacao seeds, a decoction of which is sometimes used as a substitute or adulterant for cocoa and its products such as chocolate.

To use tricks to go past a defender.

(geology) The accreted mineral formed around a hollow geode.

(intransitive) To become covered with skin.

(weaponry) The casing of a self-contained single-unit artillery projectile.

(transitive) To cover with skin, or as if with skin; hence, to cover superficially.

(weaponry) A hollow, usually spherical or cylindrical projectile fired from a siege mortar or a smoothbore cannon. It contains an explosive substance designed to be ignited by a fuse or by percussion at the target site so that it will burst and scatter at high velocity its contents and fragments. Formerly called a bomb.

To produce, in recitation, examination, etc., the work of another for one's own, or to use cribs, memoranda, etc., which are prohibited.

(weaponry) The cartridge of a breechloading firearm; a load; a bullet; a round.

To strip of money or property; to cheat.

(architecture) Any slight hollow structure; a framework, or exterior structure, regarded as not complete or filled in, as the shell of a house.

The external membranous integument of an animal.

A garment, usually worn by women, such as a shirt, blouse, or top, with short sleeves or no sleeves, that often fastens in the rear.

The hide of an animal, separated from the body, whether green, dry, or tanned; especially, that of a small animal, as a calf, sheep, or goat.

A coarse or flimsy coffin; a thin interior coffin enclosed within a more substantial one.

A vessel made of skin, used for holding liquids. See Bottle, 1.

(music) A string instrument, as a lyre, whose acoustical chamber is formed like a shell.

The bark or husk of a plant or fruit; the exterior coat of fruits and plants.

(music) The body of a drum; the often wooden, often cylindrical acoustic chamber, with or without rims added for tuning and for attaching the drum head.

That part of a sail, when furled, which remains on the outside and covers the whole.

An engraved copper roller used in print works.

To strip off the skin or hide of; to flay; to peel; as, to skin an animal.

The thin coating of copper on an electrotype.

To cover with skin, or as with skin; hence, to cover superficially.

(nautical) The watertight outer covering of the hull of a vessel, often made with planking or metal plating.

To strip of money or property; to cheat.

The outer frame or case of a block within which the sheaves revolve.

To become covered with skin; as, a wound skins over.

(nautical) A light boat whose frame is covered with thin wood, impermeable fabric, or water-proofed paper; a racing shell or dragon boat.

To produce, in recitation, examination, etc., the work of another for one's own, or to use in such exercise cribs, memeoranda, etc., which are prohibited.

(chemistry) A set of atomic orbitals that have the same principal quantum number.

A natural protective covering of the body; site of the sense of touch;

(figuratively) The outward form independent of what is inside.

The tissue forming the hard outer layer (of e.g. a fruit)

(figuratively) The empty outward form of someone or something.

An outer surface (usually thin);

An emaciated person.

Body covering of a living animal

A psychological barrier to social interaction.

A person's skin regarded as their life;

(computing) An operating system software user interface, whose primary purpose is to launch other programs and control their interactions; the user's command interpreter. Shell is a way to separate the internal complexity of the implementation of the command from the user. The internals can change while the user experience/interface remains the same.

The rind of a fruit or vegetable

(business) A legal entity that has no operations.

A bag serving as a container for liquids; it is made from the skin of an animal

A concave rough cast-iron tool in which a convex lens is ground to shape.

Climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling

(engineering) A gouge bit or shell bit.

Bruise, cut, or injure the skin or the surface of;

(phonology) The onset and coda of a syllable.

Remove the bark of a tree

A person's ear.

Strip the skin off;

To remove the outer covering or shell of something.

Strike against an object;

To bombard, to fire projectiles at, especially with artillery.

(informal) To disburse or give up money, to pay. (Often used with out).

(intransitive) To fall off, as a shell, crust, etc.

(intransitive) To cast the shell, or exterior covering; to fall out of the pod or husk.

To switch to a shell or command line.

To form shallow, irregular cracks (in a coating).

(topology) To form a shelling.

A hard outside covering, as of a fruit or an animal.

The hard calcareous or chitinous external covering of mollusks, crustaceans, and some other invertebrates. In some mollusks, as the cuttlefishes, it is internal, or concealed by the mantle. Also, the hard covering of some vertebrates, as the armadillo, the tortoise, and the like.

A hollow projectile, of various shapes, adapted for a mortar or a cannon, and containing an explosive substance, ignited with a fuse or by percussion, by means of which the projectile is burst and its fragments scattered. See Bomb.

The case which holds the powder, or charge of powder and shot, used with breechloading small arms.

Any slight hollow structure; a framework, or exterior structure, regarded as not complete or filled in; as, the shell of a house.

A coarse kind of coffin; also, a thin interior coffin inclosed in a more substantial one.

An instrument of music, as a lyre, - the first lyre having been made, it is said, by drawing strings over a tortoise shell.

An engraved copper roller used in print works.

The husks of cacao seeds, a decoction of which is often used as a substitute for chocolate, cocoa, etc.

The outer frame or case of a block within which the sheaves revolve.

A light boat the frame of which is covered with thin wood or with paper; as, a racing shell.

Something similar in form or action to an ordnance shell;

A concave rough cast-iron tool in which a convex lens is ground to shape.

A gouge bit or shell bit.

To strip or break off the shell of; to take out of the shell, pod, etc.; as, to shell nuts or pease; to shell oysters.

To separate the kernels of (an ear of Indian corn, wheat, oats, etc.) from the cob, ear, or husk.

To throw shells or bombs upon or into; to bombard; as, to shell a town.

To fall off, as a shell, crust, etc.

To cast the shell, or exterior covering; to fall out of the pod or husk; as, nuts shell in falling.

To be disengaged from the ear or husk; as, wheat or rye shells in reaping.

Ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired from a large gun

The material that forms the hard outer covering of many animals

Hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as arthropods and turtles

The hard usually fibrous outer layer of some fruits especially nuts

The exterior covering of a bird's egg

A rigid covering that envelops an object;

A very light narrow racing boat

The housing or outer covering of something;

A metal sheathing of uniform thickness (such as the shield attached to an artillery piece to protect the gunners)

The hard largely calcareous covering of a mollusc

Use explosives on;

Fall out of the pod or husk;

Hit the pitches of hard and regularly;

Look for and collect shells by the seashore

Come out better in a competition, race, or conflict;

Remove from its shell or outer covering;

Remove the husks from;