1. A thin varnish made by dissolving lac in ethanol; used to finish wood
   "The carpenter applied shellac varnish to bring out the natural grain of the wood";
   - shellac varnish
    
2. Lac purified by heating and filtering; usually in thin orange or yellow flakes but sometimes bleached white
   "The woodworker applied shellac to give the furniture a glossy finish"

1. Cover with shellac
   "She wanted to shellac the desk to protect it from water spots";
   - shellack
    
2. [N. Amer, informal] Beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight
   "We shellacked the other team on Sunday!";
   - cream [informal], clobber [informal], drub [informal], thrash [informal], lick [informal], paste [informal], blow away [informal], muller [Brit, informal], marmelize [Brit, informal], marmelise [Brit, informal], trounce, whale [N. Amer, informal], hammer [informal], wipe the floor [informal], marmalise [Brit, informal], beat hollow [informal], slaughter [informal], marmalize [Brit, informal], smoke [N. Amer, informal], shellack [N. Amer, informal]

Derived forms: shellacs

Type of: beat, beat out, crush, lac, seal, shell [US], trounce, vanquish, varnish

Encyclopedia: Shellac