What does "gull" mean?
A seabird of the genus Larus or of the subfamily Larinae.
Gull
/ˈɡʌl/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A seabird of the genus Larus or of the subfamily Larinae.
- Grammar: gull is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: mark, seagull, sucker, babe.
- Useful contrasts: disclose, expose, inform.
- Usage evidence: The sea gull glided on the wind.
How to use "gull"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gull" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gull" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gull" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gull" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gull" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "mark" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gull", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A seabird of the genus Larus or of the subfamily Larinae.
"The tide was out, and we drew up amid the strong bracing smell of seaweed, with gulls screeching, wheeling around, and gliding on the wind."
- 2 A cheating trick; a fraud. slang
"BENEDICK. [Aside] I should think this a gull, but that the white-bearded fellow speaks it: knavery cannot, sure, hide itself in such reverence."
- 3 A breach or hole made by the force of a torrent; fissure, chasm. dialectal
- 4 A player, supporter or other person connected with Torquay United Football Club.
- 5 mostly white aquatic bird having long pointed wings and short legs wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Any of various pierid butterflies of the genus Cepora.
- 7 A stupid animal.
- 8 A channel made by a stream; a natural watercourse; running water. dialectal
- 9 a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of wordnet
- 10 One easily cheated; a dupe.
- 11 A swindler or trickster. obsolete
"You'll excuse me, sir, but as you are fresh, take care to avoid the gulls; they fly about here in large flocks, I assure you, and do no little mischief at times." "I never understood that gulls were birds of prey," said I.—"Only in Oxford, sir; and here, I assure you, they bite like hawks, and pick many a poor young gentleman as bare before his three years are expired, as the crows would a dead sheep upon a common. […]""
Verb
- 1 To deceive or cheat.
"O, but to ha' gulled him / Had been a mastery."
- 2 To sweep away by the force of running water; to carve or wear into a gully. dialectal
- 3 fool or hoax wordnet
- 4 To mislead. US, slang
- 5 make a fool or dupe of wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To trick and defraud. US, slang
- 7 To flatter, wheedle. dialectal
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"The sea gull glided on the wind."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gull"?
Common synonyms include: mark, seagull, sucker, babe, bamboozle, beat.
How do you use "gull" in a sentence?
The sea gull glided on the wind.
How do you pronounce "gull"?
Pronounced /ˈɡʌl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English gulle, from a Brythonic language (compare Breton gouelan, Welsh gwylan, and Cornish golan), from Proto-Brythonic *gwuɨlann, from Proto-Celtic *weilannā (“seagull”). Cognate with Old Irish foílenn, Scottish Gaelic faoileag. Compare French goéland, a borrowing from Breton. Eclipsed Middle English lare (borrowed from Latin larus) and Middle English mewe (from Old English mæw).
Etymology 2
Perhaps from an obsolete term gull (“to swallow, guzzle”), from Middle English golen (“to make swallowing motions, gape”), from Middle English gole (“throat”).
Etymology 3
From Middle English gole (“a whirlpool, narrow inlet of the sea, ditch or stream”), from Middle Low German goel, gȫl, gȫle (“swamp, marshy lowland”), related to Old Dutch gulla (“pool, puddle”), Old French goille (“pool, puddle, pond”), all ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *goli, *golljā (“puddle”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *guljaz, *guljǭ.
Etymology 4
In reference to the seagulls found in Torquay, a coastal town.