Meanings
plural shell companies
- businessA company that engages in no substantive business activities, but instead exists as a vehicle for legal or financial transactions, typically to shield another party from liability or other issues.
It was a shell company and, the SEC alleges, never had researchers, research plans or any scientific resources.
2003 November 15, Tony Levene, “Capital letters”, in The Guardian1 more example
This luxury-loving and profligate shell company is registered at a betting shop on the Caledonian Road, an unlovely thoroughfare in North London on which you'd be more likely to find amphetamines than a top-notch lawyer.
2018, Oliver Bullough, chapter 2, in Moneyland, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 19Synonyms: shell corporation, letterbox company, mailbox company, front company
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA company that engages in no substantive business activities, but instead exists as a vehicle for legal or financial transactions, typically to shield another party from liability or other issues.
Translations
Danish skuffeselskab
- skuffeselskabcompany without activity created for tax purposes
Dutch brievenbusfirma, brievenbusmaatschappij
- brievenbusfirmacompany without activity created for tax purposes
- brievenbusmaatschappijcompany without activity created for tax purposes
Finnish peiteyhtiö, peiteyritys
- peiteyhtiöcompany without activity created for tax purposes
- peiteyrityscompany without activity created for tax purposes
- peitefirmacompany without activity created for tax purposes
French société écran
- société écrancompany without activity created for tax purposes
German Briefkastenfirma, Briefkastengesellschaft
- Briefkastenfirmacompany without activity created for tax purposes
- Briefkastengesellschaftcompany without activity created for tax purposes
- Domizilgesellschaftcompany without activity created for tax purposes
Indonesian perusahaan cangkang
- perusahaan cangkangcompany without activity created for tax purposes
Japanese ペーパーカンパニー
- ペーパーカンパニー (pēpā kanpanī)company without activity created for tax purposes
Norwegian Bokmål postkasseselskap
- postkasseselskapcompany without activity created for tax purposes
Polish spółka-wydmuszka
- spółka-wydmuszkacompany without activity created for tax purposes
Portuguese empresa-fantasma
- empresa-fantasmacompany without activity created for tax purposes
Spanish empresa fantasma, compañía fachada
- empresa fantasmacompany without activity created for tax purposes
- compañía fachadacompany without activity created for tax purposes
- corporación pantallacompany without activity created for tax purposes
Swedish skalbolag
- skalbolagcompany without activity created for tax purposes
Cite this entry
shell company. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shell%20company
“shell company.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shell%20company. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shell company,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shell%20company.
Source: shell company on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.