# shell vs shellac

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### shell
*noun · IPA /ʃɛl/ · frequency rank #3,726*
A hard external covering of an animal.

### shellac
*noun · IPA /ʃəˈlæk/ · frequency rank #49,632*
A processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca; used in polishes, varnishes etc.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shell-vs-shellac