Hull

UK: 'hull', 'Hull': /hʌl/ US: /hʌl/ ,(hul)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Hull / hʌl/ noun

1. a city and port in NE England, in Kingston upon Hull unitary authority, East Riding of Yorkshire: fishing, food processing; two universities. Pop: 301 416 (2001). Official name: Kingston upon Hull
2. a city in SE Canada, in SW Quebec on the River Ottawa: a centre of the timber trade and associated industries. Pop: 66 246 (2001)

Hull / hʌl/ noun

1. Cordell. 1871–1955, US statesman; secretary of state (1933–44). He helped to found the U.N.: Nobel peace prize 1945

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

hull¹ /hʌl/   n. [countable]

1. Botany the outer covering of a seed or fruit.

v. [~ + object]

2. to remove the hull of;
   skin, peel, shell, or shuck.

hull² /hʌl/   n. [countable]

1. Nautical, Naval Terms the hollow lowermost portion of a ship.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

hull¹  (hul), n. 

1. Botany the husk, shell, or outer covering of a seed or fruit.
2. Botany the calyx of certain fruits, as the strawberry.
3. any covering or envelope.

v.t. 

4. to remove the hull of.
5. Dialect Terms [Midland U.S.] to shell (peas or beans).

• bef. 1000; Middle English; Old English hulu husk, pod; akin to Old English helan to cover, hide, Latin cēlāre to hide, conceal, Greek kalýptein to cover up (see apocalypse). See hall, hell, hole

hull′er, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. skin, pod, peel, rind, shuck.

hull²  (hul), n. 

1. Nautical, Naval Terms the hollow, lowermost portion of a ship, floating partially submerged and supporting the remainder of the ship.
2. Aeronautics
   • the boatlike fuselage of a flying boat on which the plane lands or takes off.
   • the cigar-shaped arrangement of girders enclosing the gasbag of a rigid dirigible.
3. Nautical, Idioms, Naval Terms hull down, (of a ship) sufficiently far away, or below the horizon, that the hull is invisible.
4. Nautical, Naval Terms, Idioms hull up, (of a ship) sufficiently near, or above the horizon, that the hull is visible.

v.t. 

5. Nautical, Naval Terms to pierce (the hull of a ship), esp. below the water line.

v.i. 

6. Nautical, Naval Terms to drift without power or sails.

• 1350–1400; Middle English; special use of hull¹

hull′-less, adj. 

Hull  (hul), n. 

Cor•dell  (kôr′del, kôr del′), 1871–1955, U.S. statesman: Secretary of State 1933–44;
Nobel peace prize 1945.
1. Biographical Robert Marvin (Bobby), born 1939, Canadian ice-hockey player.
2. Biographical William, 1753–1825, U.S. general.
3. Place Names Official name, Kingston-upon-Hull. a seaport in Humberside, in E England, on the Humber River. 279,700.
4. Place Names a city in SE Canada, on the Ottawa River opposite Ottawa. 61,039.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

hull / hʌl/ noun

1. the main body of a vessel, tank, flying boat, etc
2. the shell or pod of peas or beans; the outer covering of any fruit or seed; husk
3. the persistent calyx at the base of a strawberry, raspberry, or similar fruit
4. the outer casing of a missile, rocket, etc

verb

1. to remove the hulls from (fruit or seeds)
2. (transitive) to pierce the hull of (a vessel, tank, etc)

Etymology: Old English hulu; related to Old High German helawa, Old English helan to hide