scull
Americannoun
-
sculls
plural
-
an oar mounted on a fulcrum at the stern of a small boat and moved from side to side to propel the boat forward.
-
either of a pair of oars rowed by one rower.
-
a boat propelled by an oar or oars.
-
a light, narrow racing boat for one, two, or sometimes four rowers, each equipped with a pair of oars.
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sculls, a race involving such boats.
verb (used with object)
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sculls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sculled,
past participle, past
-
sculling
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
sculls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sculled,
past participle, past
-
sculling
present participle
noun
-
a single oar moved from side to side over the stern of a boat to propel it
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one of a pair of short-handled oars, both of which are pulled by one oarsman, esp in a racing shell
-
a racing shell propelled by an oarsman or oarsmen pulling two oars
-
(plural) a race between racing shells, each propelled by one, two, or four oarsmen pulling two oars
-
an act, instance, period, or distance of sculling
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scullsimple
-
scullssimple
-
have sculledperfect
-
has sculledperfect
-
am scullingprogressive
-
are scullingprogressive
-
is scullingprogressive
-
have been scullingperfect progressive
-
has been scullingperfect progressive
Past
-
sculledsimple
-
had sculledperfect
-
was scullingprogressive
-
were scullingprogressive
-
had been scullingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scull
1300–50; Middle English sculle < ?
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.
See Examples For:
Back on land, the crew donned blazers and burned an old wooden scull in Peterhouse’s garden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
In scull rowing, the athlete propels the boat by swinging two oars at the same time.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2021
New Zealand's Emma Twigg cruised to gold in the single scull, with Hannah Prakatsen, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, taking silver.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2021
She learned how to row a scull in 2015 and won a bronze medal in the women’s coxless pair at the Southeast Asian Games hosted by Singapore later that year.
From New York Times ● Jul. 23, 2021
Nothing puts out a sculler’s hands more than a recoil of the scull from the stopper, for want of room to reach out.
From Boating by W. B. Woodgate
The author, who lives in Culver City, is still married to the erstwhile sailor, but she now sculls at UCLA’s Marina Aquatics Center.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2025
The author, who lives in Culver City, is still married to the erstwhile sailor, but she now sculls at UCLA’s Marina Aquatic Center.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2025
Rowers Lauren Henry, Lola Anderson, Georgina Brayshaw and Hannah Scott won the Team of the Year for their dramatic victory in the women's quadruple sculls at Paris 2024.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2025
In the mixed double sculls PR3, Great Britain's Annie Caddick and Sam Murray pipped Germany to claim silver.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2024
The Vancouver Rowing Club, hearing of their reputation in England, commissioned them to build two single sculls for one hundred dollars apiece.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
They sculled upside-down, slapped their pecs and flukes seemingly just for fun, maybe just to hear the resonant, smacking sound.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2019
Final flat whites were sculled at overpriced cafes and out-of-office signatures attached to emails.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 21, 2018
But on Sept. 23 the 72-year-old took to the Mississippi River near the Bass Street Landing and sculled for the first time in his life.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 17, 2014
He almost sculled it, real hot running past the hole.
From Golf Digest ● Jun. 9, 2014
When I was at Eton, and during the season, I sculled constantly, more than almost any other boy in the school.
From The Real Gladstone an Anecdotal Biography by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie
There’s sculling lingo to learn — eight seat, catching a crab, puddles, the engine room, rushing the slide.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
A gifted athlete, he became the first Indian to win the Macklin Sculls - a prestigious single sculling race - at the Calcutta Lake Club in 1938.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
During covid we got our sculling license, so we’d do some sculling for maybe an hour.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2021
Unlike most predatory dinosaurs — including some relatives such as the slender-snouted Baryonyx — Spinosaurus had densely mineralized bones, unusually short hind limbs and a tail configuration that allowed for sinuous, sculling motions.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2021
She waited for this command, sculling her wings.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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