hulk

[huhlk]

noun

1. the body of an old or dismantled ship.

2. a ship specially built to serve as a storehouse, prison, etc., and not for sea service.

3. a clumsy-looking or unwieldy ship or boat.

4. a bulky or unwieldy person, object, or mass.

5. the shell of a wrecked, burned-out, or abandoned vehicle, building, or the like.

verb (used without object)

1. to loom in bulky form; appear as a large, massive bulk (often followed byup ).

   The bus hulked up suddenly over the crest of the hill.

2. British Dialect.,  to lounge, slouch, or move in a heavy, loutish manner.

hulk

/ hʌlk /

noun

1. the body of an abandoned vessel

2. derogatory,  a large or unwieldy vessel

3. derogatory,  a large ungainly person or thing

4. (often plural) the frame or hull of a ship, used as a storehouse, etc, or (esp in 19th-century Britain) as a prison

verb

1. informal,  (intr) to move clumsily

2. to rise massively

Word History and Origins

Origin of hulk¹

before 1000; Middle English hulke, Old English hulc; perhaps < Medieval Latin hulcus < Greek holkás trading vessel, originally, towed ship

Word History and Origins

Origin of hulk¹

Old English hulc, from Medieval Latin hulca, from Greek holkas barge, from helkein to tow

Example Sentences

Guillermo del Toro renders this with a small sunlit vision: a hulking figure perched on a rooftop, savoring a loaf left out for the spirit the villagers imagine him to be.

Read more on Salon

On a recent morning at Philly Shipyard, a hulking “Goliath” crane towered over the site, sporting a fresh coat of Hanwha orange paint.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The hours passed, the rumbling grew louder, and a hulking industrial structure appeared in the distance.

Read more on Literature

To his champions, however, he was the firm-jawed, hulking, resolute defender of American interests.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

On a recent smoggy morning, the hulking San Bernardino Mountains veiled by a gray-brown haze, Eric Lawson paused to offer his thoughts.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blob 
• hull 
• hunk 
• skeleton 
• wreck