shellback

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noun

A worldly sailor.

Similar
barnacle
Scrabble 20
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Meanings

nounshellback (plural shellbacks)

plural shellbacks

  1. A worldly sailor.

    “Take that, for being a pumpkin-headed old shellback.”

    1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, page 161

    Synonyms: barnacle

  2. A sailor who has crossed the equator.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA worldly sailor.

Similar
barnacle
Also see
barnacle

Origin

From shell + back.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

backshell
Cite this entry
APA

shellback. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shellback

MLA

“shellback.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shellback. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shellback,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shellback.

Source: shellback on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.