seagull
Americannoun
noun
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a popular name for gull 1
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a casual wharf labourer who is not a trade-union member
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.
Yurdum Spor is considering adding a seagull to its logo in tribute.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
The seagull reportedly suffered a damaged wing but it was not immediately clear what happened to it after the match.
From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026
Half an hour after an almost offensively poor Old Firm derby had ended - a slugfest in the bearpit - a seagull swooped down from above the Sandy Jardine stand at Ibrox.
From BBC • Aug. 31, 2025
“She really saved my life,” he said of Becker, whose name Bernthal has lovingly tattooed on his forearm, along with the emblem for the Moscow Art Theatre, a seagull in flight.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2025
She sits all day by the window and plays the Spanish radio show and sings all the homesick songs about her country in a voice that sounds like a seagull.
From "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros
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.
