hull

/həl/

/həl/

Other forms: hulls; hulled; hulling

A sailor who is far out at sea has to hope that the hull of her boat is watertight. The hull of a boat or a ship is its outer body.

A boat's hull can be made of wood, metal, or fiberglass — it gives a boat or ship its shape and keeps water out. Another kind of hull is the outer covering of a seed. Corn, for example, has a hull that is removed when you husk it and reveal the kernels. This kind of hull is thought to be the root of the nautical hull, probably based on the similarity between a ship's hull and an open pea pod.

Definitions of hull

1. noun

   dry outer covering of a fruit or seed or nut
   types:

   shell

   the hard usually fibrous outer layer of some fruits especially nuts

   nutshell

   the shell around the kernel of a nut

   type of:

   husk

   outer membranous covering of some fruits or seeds
2. noun

   persistent enlarged calyx at base of e.g. a strawberry or raspberry
   type of:

   calyx

   (botany) the whorl of sepals of a flower collectively forming the outer floral envelope or layer of the perianth enclosing and supporting the developing bud; usually green
3. noun

   the frame or body of a ship
   type of:

   construction, structure

   a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts
4. verb

   remove the hulls from
   “hull the berries”

   type of:

   remove, take, take away, withdraw

   remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract