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• gull wing
  gull wing

  noun

  an airplane wing that slants briefly upward from the fuselage and then extends horizontally outward.
• gull-wing
  gull-wing

  adjective

  (of an automobile door) hinged at the top and opening upward.

gull wing

¹ American  

noun

1. an airplane wing that slants briefly upward from the fuselage and then extends horizontally outward.

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gull-wing ² American  

[guhl-wing] / ˈgʌlˌwɪŋ /

adjective

1. (of an automobile door) hinged at the top and opening upward.

2. having gull-wing doors.

   a gull-wing sports car.

3. having or resembling airplane gull wings.

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gull-wing British  

/ ˈɡʌlˌwɪŋ /

adjective

1. (of a car door) opening upwards

2. (of an aircraft wing) having a short upward-sloping inner section and a longer horizontal outer section

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Etymology

Origin of gull wing¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Origin of gull-wing²

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gull-wing

John Z. DeLorean’s company produced under 10,000 DMC-12 vehicles before bankruptcy, yet its gull-wing doors and stainless steel body influenced future designs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

Its brushed steel exterior and so-called gull-wing doors that open upwards, made it eye catching.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2022

But also like the DeLorean with its gull-wing doors that don’t stay up or the Millennium Falcon’s illusions of passageways rather than the real thing, there’s still room to quibble.

From The Verge ● Apr. 21, 2022

After three loud bangs and a flash of light, a DeLorean car seemed to magically appear in the middle of the stage, lights bouncing off its steel bodywork and gull-wing doors.

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021

The sleek, angular car with gull-wing doors known simply as “the DeLorean” was featured in the movie franchise starring Michael J. Fox about a kid who travels back in time to engineer his parents’ meeting.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 15, 2018