Jump To:

• hull
  hull

  noun

  the husk, shell, or outer covering of a seed or fruit.
• Hull
  Hull

  noun

  Bobby Robert Marvin Hull, 1939–2023, Canadian ice-hockey player, known as “the Golden Jet”: Hockey Hall of Fame 1983.

hull

¹ American  

[huhl] / hʌl /

noun

1. the husk, shell, or outer covering of a seed or fruit.

   Synonyms:

   shuck, rind, peel, pod, skin

2. the calyx of certain fruits, as the strawberry.

3. any covering or envelope.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to remove the hull of.

2. Midland U.S. to shell (peas or beans).

hull ² American  

[huhl] / hʌl /

noun

1. the hollow, lowermost portion of a ship, floating partially submerged and supporting the remainder of the ship.

2. Aeronautics.

   1. the boatlike fuselage of a flying boat on which the plane lands or takes off.

   2. the cigar-shaped arrangement of girders enclosing the gasbag of a rigid dirigible.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to pierce (the hull of a ship), especially below the water line.

verb (used without object)

1. to drift without power or sails.

idioms

1. hull down, (of a ship) sufficiently far away, or below the horizon, that the hull is invisible.

2. hull up, (of a ship) sufficiently near, or above the horizon, that the hull is visible.

Hull ³ American  

[huhl] / hʌl /

noun

1. Bobby Robert Marvin Hull, 1939–2023, Canadian ice-hockey player, known as “the Golden Jet”: Hockey Hall of Fame 1983.

2. Cordell 1871–1955, U.S. secretary of state 1933–44, known as “the Father of the United Nations”: Nobel Peace Prize 1945.

3. William, 1753–1825, U.S. general, court-martialed and sentenced to death after surrendering a U.S. fort to the British during the War of 1812: pardoned by President Madison.

4. Official Name Kingston-upon-Hull. a seaport in Humberside, in eastern England, on the Humber River.

5. a city in southeastern Canada, on the Ottawa River opposite Ottawa.

---

hull ¹ British  

/ hʌl /

noun

1. the main body of a vessel, tank, flying boat, etc

2. the shell or pod of peas or beans; the outer covering of any fruit or seed; husk

3. the persistent calyx at the base of a strawberry, raspberry, or similar fruit

4. the outer casing of a missile, rocket, etc

---

verb

1. to remove the hulls from (fruit or seeds)

2. (tr) to pierce the hull of (a vessel, tank, etc)

Hull ² British  

/ hʌl /

noun

1. a city and port in NE England, in Kingston upon Hull unitary authority, East Riding of Yorkshire: fishing, food processing; two universities. Pop: 301 416 (2001). Official name: Kingston upon Hull

2. a city in SE Canada, in SW Quebec on the River Ottawa: a centre of the timber trade and associated industries. Pop: 66 246 (2001)

---

Hull ³ British  

/ hʌl /

noun

1. Cordell. 1871–1955, US statesman; secretary of state (1933–44). He helped to found the U.N.: Nobel peace prize 1945

---

hull Scientific  

/ hŭl /

1. The dry outer covering of a fruit, seed, or nut; a husk.

2. The enlarged calyx of a fruit, such as a strawberry, that is usually green and easily detached.

---

Other Word Forms

• huller
  noun
• hull-less
  adjective

---

Etymology

Origin of hull¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English hulu “husk, pod”; akin to Old English helan “to cover, hide,” Latin cēlāre “to hide, conceal,” Greek kalýptein “to cover up” ( see apocalypse); see conceal, hell

Origin of hull²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; special use of hull ¹

---

Explanation

A sailor who is far out at sea has to hope that the hull of her boat is watertight. The hull of a boat or a ship is its outer body. A boat's hull can be made of wood, metal, or fiberglass — it gives a boat or ship its shape and keeps water out. Another kind of hull is the outer covering of a seed. Corn, for example, has a hull that is removed when you husk it and reveal the kernels. This kind of hull is thought to be the root of the nautical hull, probably based on the similarity between a ship's hull and an open pea pod.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hull Hull

Another Singapore-flagged container vessel, GFS Giselle, sustained hull damage after being hit by a projectile on Wednesday but was able to reach a safe anchorage with all 22 crew, it added.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

In that first meeting with Collins and her staff, Kao pitched an $8 million boat hull research project for Navatek and the university.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Two 50-foot-long passenger decks were stacked inside the hull.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Both Sidi Kerir loadings and ship-to-ship transfers likely will increase under the new Red Sea threat, particularly for Asian customers, said Dylan Mortimer, marine hull U.K. war leader at insurance broker Marsh.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

He opened his knife and began to saw at the thick, stiff fabric, cutting out a piece a bit longer than the split in the hull.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

"The window to respond has shrunk dramatically," said Matt Hull, VP of cyber intelligence and response at global cyber security company NCC Group.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Hull has more than 866,000 Instagram followers and recently started her own YouTube channel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

After Barry scored against Hull last weekend, he posted on his Instagram that he was "still learning".

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Hull were relegated twice in the period, costing the Tigers £93.78m.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

I didn’t want to talk to David Hull, so I went down to the cabin to open Lin Nai-Nai’s present.

From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• frame
• skin

---