# shell vs swell

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

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

### swell
*verb · IPA /swɛl/ · frequency rank #12,339*
To become bigger, especially due to being engorged.

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