hull

[huhl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hull ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

the calyx of certain fruits, as the strawberry.

any covering or envelope.

verb (used with object)

to remove the hull of.

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

Origin of hull

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 hall, hell, hole

Related formshull·er, noun

Synonyms for hull

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hull ON THESAURUS.COM

1. skin, pod, peel, rind, shuck.

hull

[huhl]

noun

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

Aeronautics.

the boatlike fuselage of a flying boat on which the plane lands or takes off.
the cigar-shaped arrangement of girders enclosing the gasbag of a rigid dirigible.

verb (used with object)

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

verb (used without object)

to drift without power or sails.

Idioms

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

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

Origin of hull

1350–1400; Middle English; special use of hull¹

Related formshull-less, adjective

Hull

[huhl]

noun

Cor·dell

[kawr-del, kawr-del] /ˈkɔr dɛl, kɔrˈdɛl/, 1871–1955, U.S. statesman: secretary of state 1933–44; Nobel Peace Prize 1945.

Robert MarvinBobby, born 1939, Canadian ice-hockey player.

William,1753–1825, U.S. general.

Official name Kingston-upon-Hull. a seaport in Humberside, in E England, on the Humber River.

a city in SE Canada, on the Ottawa River opposite Ottawa.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hull

frame, skin, case, shell, peel, covering, casing, shuck, cast, husk, framework, rind, pod, mold, bark, structure, peeling

Examples from the Web for hull

Contemporary Examples of hull

Four of them carried a thick black nylon body bag, two to a side, and loaded it into the middle of the hull.
I Shot Bin Laden
Elliot Ackerman
November 16, 2014
Jimbo and I walked up its ramp and into the hull, which looked like the gutted inside of a school bus.
I Shot Bin Laden
Elliot Ackerman
November 16, 2014
Meanwhile, the rest of hull is wide at the waterline and slopes inward.
Can the Navy's $12 Billion Stealth Destroyer Stay Afloat?
Dave Majumdar
October 22, 2014
Having received a patent on the technology in 1986, Hull founded 3D Systems to commercialize his discoveries.
Pioneers in Printing
The Daily Beast
October 21, 2014
“When some of those surgeries were first done using the help of our technology, it was really touching for me,” as Hull put it.
Pioneers in Printing
The Daily Beast
October 21, 2014

Historical Examples of hull

It was like a ship with too many masts and sails and too small a hull.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
In 1658, he was selected by his townsmen of Hull to represent them in Parliament.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
The tug's hull was practically filled with a maze of machinery.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
No knife, no rocket pistol, no line with magnet for securing oneself to a hull.
Satellite System
Horace Brown Fyfe
In the initial stages of building, the hull was upside down.
The Migrations of an American Boat Type
Howard I. Chapelle

British Dictionary definitions for hull

hull

noun

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

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

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

the outer casing of a missile, rocket, etc

verb

to remove the hulls from (fruit or seeds)

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

Derived Formshuller, nounhull-less, adjective

Word Origin for hull

Old English hulu; related to Old High German helawa, Old English helan to hide

Hull

noun

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

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

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hull

n.1

"seed covering," from Old English hulu "husk, pod," from Proto-Germanic *hulus "to cover" (cf. Old High German hulla, hulsa; German Hülle, Hülse, Dutch huls). Figurative use by 1831.

n.2

"body of a ship," 1550s, perhaps from hull (n.1) on fancied resemblance of ship keels to open peapods (cf. Latin carina "keel of a ship," originally "shell of a nut;" Greek phaselus "light passenger ship, yacht," literally "bean pod;" French coque "hull of a ship; shell of a walnut or egg"). Alternative etymology is from Middle English hoole "ship's keel" (mid-15c.), from the same source as hold (n.).

"to remove the husk of," early 15c., from hull (n.1). Related: Hulled, which can mean both "having a particular kind of hull" and "stripped of the hull."

hull in Science

hull

[hŭl]

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

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