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
Nor has he ever seen a great black-backed gull face to face, which keeps him on continuous guard should he find himself in close proximity with his archenemy without knowing it.
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.
