hull Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun dry outer covering of a fruit or seed or nut
  2. noun persistent enlarged calyx at base of e.g. a strawberry or raspberry
  3. noun United States naval officer who commanded the `Constitution' during the War of 1812 and won a series of brilliant victories against the British (1773-1843)
    Isaac Hull.
  4. noun United States diplomat who did the groundwork for creating the United Nations (1871-1955)
    Cordell Hull.
  5. noun a large fishing port in northeastern England
    Kingston-upon Hull.
  6. noun the frame or body of ship
  7. verb remove the hulls from
    • hull the berries

WordNet

Hull noun
Etymology
OE. hul, hol, shell, husk, AS. hulu; akin to G. hülle covering, husk, case, hüllen to cover, Goth. huljan to cover, AS. helan to hele, conceal. See Hele, v. t., Hell.
Definitions
  1. The outer covering of anything, particularly of a nut or of grain; the outer skin of a kernel; the husk.
  2. In this sense perh. influenced by D. hol hold of a ship, E. hold. (Naut.) The frame or body of a vessel, exclusive of her masts, yards, sails, and rigging.
    Deep in their hulls our deadly bullets light. Dryden.
Hull transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Hulled ; present participle & verbal noun Hulling
Definitions
  1. To strip off or separate the hull or hulls of; to free from integument; as, to hull corn.
  2. To pierce the hull of, as a ship, with a cannon ball.
Hull intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To toss or drive on the water, like the hull of a ship without sails. Obs. Shak. Milton.

Webster 1913