What does "hull" mean?
The outer covering of a fruit or seed.
Hull
/hʌl/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The outer covering of a fruit or seed.
- Grammar: hull is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: argosy, bark, boat, body.
- Useful contrasts: interior, kernel, superstructure.
- Usage evidence: The alien shot his ray gun and blasted a hole in the spaceship's hull.
How to use "hull"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hull" 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 "hull" 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 "hull" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hull" 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 "hull" is acting as name, noun, verb 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 "argosy" 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 "hull", 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 The outer covering of a fruit or seed.
- 2 The body or frame of a vessel, such as a ship or plane.
"VVhen you haue berthed or brought her [the ship] vp to the planks, vvhich are thoſe thicke timbers vvhich goeth fore and aft on each ſide, vvhereon doth lie the beames of the firſt Orlop, vvhich is the firſt floore to ſupport the plankes doth couer the Hovvle, thoſe are great croſſe timbers, that keepes the ſhip ſides aſunder, the maine beame is euer next the maine maſt, […]"
- 3 the frame or body of ship wordnet
- 4 Any covering.
- 5 The smallest set that possesses a particular property (such as convexity) and contains every point of A; slightly more formally, the intersection of all sets which possess the specified property and of which A is a subset.
"The orthogonal convex hull of an orthogonal polygon is the smallest orthogonally convex polygon that encloses the original polygon."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 persistent enlarged calyx at base of e.g. a strawberry or raspberry wordnet
- 7 dry outer covering of a fruit or seed or nut wordnet
Verb
- 1 To remove the outer covering of a fruit or seed.
"She sat on the back porch hulling peanuts."
- 2 To drift; to be carried by the impetus of wind or water on the ship's hull alone, with sails furled. intransitive, obsolete
"We goe not, but we are carried: as things that flote, now gliding gently, now hulling violently, according as the water is, either stormy or calme."
- 3 remove the hulls from wordnet
- 4 To hit (a ship) in the hull with cannon fire etc. transitive
"During this action, we had not a man killed or wounded, although the enemy often hulled us, and once, in particular, a shot coming into one of our ports, dismounted one of our guns between decks […]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A placename:; A river in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, which flows into the Humber. countable, uncountable
- 2 A placename:; The common name of Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. countable, uncountable
- 3 A placename:; Hull, Quebec: The central business district and oldest neighborhood of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. countable, uncountable
- 4 A placename:; Any of various places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in DeSoto County, Florida. countable, uncountable
- 5 A placename:; Any of various places in the United States:; A city in Madison County, Georgia. countable, uncountable
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 A placename:; Any of various places in the United States:; A village in Pike County, Illinois. countable, uncountable
- 7 A placename:; Any of various places in the United States:; A city in Sioux County, Iowa. countable, uncountable
- 8 A placename:; Any of various places in the United States:; A town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. countable, uncountable
- 9 A placename:; Any of various places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Emmons County, North Dakota. countable, uncountable
- 10 A placename:; Any of various places in the United States:; An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Liberty County, Texas. countable, uncountable
- 11 A placename:; Any of various places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in McDowell County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable
- 12 A placename:; Any of various places in the United States:; A town in Marathon County, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
- 13 A placename:; Any of various places in the United States:; A town in Portage County, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
- 14 A surname. countable
Antonyms
Example
"The alien shot his ray gun and blasted a hole in the spaceship's hull."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hull"?
Common synonyms include: argosy, bark, boat, body, boll, bottom.
How do you use "hull" in a sentence?
The alien shot his ray gun and blasted a hole in the spaceship's hull.
How do you pronounce "hull"?
Pronounced /hʌl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English hul, hulle, holle (“seed covering, hull of a ship”), from Old English hulu (“seed covering”), from Proto-Germanic *hul-, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide”); or possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kal- (“hard”). Compare Dutch hul (“hood”), German Hülle (“cover, wrap”), Hülse (“hull”); also Old Irish calad, calath (“hard”), Latin callus, callum (“rough skin”), Old Church Slavonic калити (kaliti, “to cool, harden”). For the sense development, compare French coque (“nutshell; ship's hull”), Ancient Greek φάσηλος (phásēlos, “bean pod; yacht”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English holle, hoole (“hull, hold of a ship, ship”), of uncertain origin. Possibly a variant and special use of Etymology 1 above, conformed to hull. Alternatively, a variant of Middle English hole, hoole, holle (“hiding place, lair, den, shelter, compartment”, literally “hole, hollow”), related to Middle Dutch and Dutch hol (“hole, ship's cargo hold”). More at hole.
Etymology 3
The town in England is Inherited from Middle English Hull, Hul, Hulle, traditionally derived from Proto-Brythonic *hʉl, from Proto-Celtic *soulos, from Proto-Indo-European *sew- (“to press”); Breeze instead suggests derivation from hula, plural of hulu (“hut”). Chaucer's Hulle (for expected *Hul, *Hule) is presumably a hypercorrect Southern form. The surname is either from the English town or Middle English hulle, western variant of hylle (“hill”); many other place names are ultimately from the surname.