seagull
Americannoun
-
seagulls
plural
noun
-
a popular name for gull 1
-
a casual wharf labourer who is not a trade-union member
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of seagull
Explanation
A seagull is a common, noisy shorebird. If a bird swoops down and steals your French fries as you're walking along the boardwalk, it was probably a seagull. Although the large gray and white birds that follow lobster boats and congregate on beaches are officially called gulls, most people use the colloquial seagull. These sea birds have wide wingspans and webbed feet. They live in large groups and thrive alongside humans, scavenging trash and food waste in addition to eating fish and crustaceans. Described as "opportunistic feeders," seagulls are also highly adept at stealing the fish and chips right off your tray.
Vocabulary lists containing seagull
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:
Nora resides among an assortment of odd-duck tenants, feeding daily breakfast to a punctual seagull she names Father Conway and finding secular outlets for her abiding curiosity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Yurdum Spor is considering adding a seagull to its logo in tribute.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
The seagull with the bread in his gob was the best of it.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2025
In 2023 Blackpool Zoo asked for candidates to become official seagull scarers, which involved dressing up as birds.
From BBC ● May 16, 2025
She did run, though, and Pantalaimon flew up as a seagull to watch where the bear went and called down to tell her where to follow.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
Other candidates have dressed up as furry animals or seagulls to draw attention to animal rights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
It owes nothing to Chekhov — though there are seagulls — but much to a classically Russian sense of humor and a Chaplinesque ingenuity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
They tend to multiply in the lower respiratory tract, and in their usual hosts, such as ducks and seagulls, they often infect the gut.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2025
A spat over seagulls, of all things, and whether the government would postpone a planned summit or make a statement in the chamber about it, precipitated some sharp exchanges between Hepburn and Ross.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2025
I take a deep breath of pine and eucalyptus, hear mockingbirds and seagulls and the rumbling surf in the distance.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
