black-backed gull
Americannoun
noun
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either of two common black-and-white European coastal gulls, Larus fuscus ( lesser black-backed gull ) and L. marinus ( great black-backed gull )
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Also called: karoro. a southern gull, larus dominicanus , with black feathers on its back
Etymology
Origin of black-backed gull
First recorded in 1770–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The lab report concluded that flying debris from the tail section mangled a great black-backed gull whose wing was found on a rooftop with other debris.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Birds including the curlew, nightjar, dipper, lesser black-backed gull and red grouse are also named.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
Global great black-backed gull populations have almost halved since 1985.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2024
Then, in November 2020, came evidence it had jumped the Atlantic Ocean: Researchers documented a sick great black-backed gull on Newfoundland.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 6, 2023
There, in the distance, Twitch lay on the far side, while just behind her loomed the great black-backed gull with one of its claws brushing down upon her back.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
