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gull¹ Definition

gull (gul)

noun pl. gulls or gull

any of various shorebirds of a worldwide family (Laridae), with large wings, slender legs, webbed feet, a strong, hooked bill, and feathers of chiefly white and gray

Etymology: ME < Celt, as in Cornish gullan, Welsh gwylan, Bret gwelan

gull² Definition

gull (gul)

noun

a person easily cheated or tricked; dupe

Etymology: ME gulle, silly fellow, lit., unfledged bird < gul, yellow < ON gulr, akin to goll, gold

transitive verb

to cheat or trick; dupe

gull Synonyms

gull

n.

sucker, dope, dupe, sap, puppet; see also fool 2.

gull Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • roost: An adult Mediterranean Gull was among the roosting gulls.
  • nest: The terrain changed with the broad green levels around the cobbled pavements of the raised beaches alive with nesting gulls.
  • tail: Go to the pier ( fishmarket ) in the port to make pictures Band tailed gulls.
  • breed: It was designated for its estuaries and adjacent coastal habitats, which are important for breeding gulls, terns and wintering waterfowl.
  • wheel: Colin Parker Tumbling clouds, wheeling gulls... You see, the scenery has a poetic effect on you!
  • head: Gulls were a welcome site among the Black Headed Gulls on the flood.

Adjective modifier

  • black-headed: A few Black-headed Gulls were resting on the slow flowing river.
  • yellow-legged: On the main lagoon, there only appeared to be Yellow-legged Gulls on my visits.
  • black-backed: The best-known case is herring gull versus lesser black-backed gull.
  • ring-billed: At least one adult Ring-billed gull was among them.
  • slender-billed: We saw a flock of 24 slender-billed gulls in a pool on the beach next to the platform.
  • glaucous: A glaucous gull was reported from the ARC site this morning.

Modifies a noun

  • chick: Herring gull chicks peck at a red spot on their parents's bill to induce their parents to regurgitate food.
  • colony: We will stop at a seal and sea gull colony in Spring Passage.
  • wing: Its most striking feature is the inverted gull wing.
  • specie: There is normally a good congregation of the commoner gull species around the ponds or roosting on the golf course.
  • population: Tuesday 12 July 2005 A large raptor soared over St Leonards on Sea today causing the gull population to explode with anxiety.

Noun used with modifier

  • herring: Was there a herring gull with an olive branch too?
  • kelp: The gulls were predominantly grey-headed, but among them we found 2 kelp gulls, a Med. gull and good numbers of slender-billed gulls.
  • sea: She thought the sea gull would not help her.

Browse dictionary entries near gull

  1. gulfweed
  2. Gulf War syndrome
  3. Gulf War
  4. Gulf Stream
  5. Gulf States
  6. gulf
  7. gules
  8. gulden
  9. gulch
  10. gular
  1. Gullah
  2. gullet
  3. gullible
  4. Gulliver's Travels
  5. gully
  6. gulosity
  7. gulp
  8. gum
  9. gum ammoniac
  10. gum arabic