[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/eggshell/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [E](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/e/) / eggshell

# eggshell

noun (an eggshell, eggshells); adjective (eggshell colour, eggshell paint)

«eggshell» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. An eggshell is the hard thin outside cover of an egg, which breaks easily. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#m1)
2. Eggshell is a very pale off-white colour, like the inside of an egg's shell. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#m2)
3. Eggshell paint is paint with a soft, slightly shiny finish. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#m3)
4. «Walking on eggshells» means being very careful not to upset someone who gets angry or hurt easily. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#m4)

### In the lessons

In science lessons eggshells are used to show that they are made of calcium carbonate, which fizzes in vinegar, and that a curved shell is surprisingly strong when pushed evenly. In cooking you must not get bits of eggshell in the cake mix; eggshells can go in the compost. The phrase «walking on eggshells» shows a tense feeling at home or in class. Phrases: crack the eggshell, bits of eggshell, eggshell white, walking on eggshells.

### Examples

- She picked a bit of eggshell out of the pancake batter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#x1)
- We put the eggshells in the compost bin. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#x2)
- The chick pecked its way out of the eggshell. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#x3)
- We soaked an egg in vinegar until the eggshell disappeared. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#x4)
- Mum painted the hall in eggshell white. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#x5)
- Everyone was walking on eggshells after the big argument. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#x6)
- An eggshell is mostly made of calcium. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#x7)
- You can grow cress seeds in an empty eggshell. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#x8)
- As soon as the water started to boil--tac!--he broke the eggshell. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/#x9)

### Note

Countable: one eggshell, many eggshells; also written as two words, «egg shell», but «eggshell» is more usual. Fun science fact: an eggshell is hard to crush when you squeeze it from both ends, because the dome shape spreads the push; it breaks easily on an edge. «Walking on eggshells» is an idiom, not about real eggs.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «eggshell» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eggshell/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«eggshell» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/eggshell.html) on Mova free.