hull down

H h

Definitions of hull down words

noun hull down the hollow, lowermost portion of a ship, floating partially submerged and supporting the remainder of the ship. 1
noun hull down 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. 1
verb with object hull down to pierce (the hull of a ship), especially below the water line. 1
verb without object hull down to drift without power or sails. 1
idioms hull down hull down, (of a ship) sufficiently far away, or below the horizon, that the hull is invisible. 1
idioms hull down hull up, (of a ship) sufficiently near, or above the horizon, that the hull is visible. 1

before 1350

One of the 20% oldest English words

1350-1400; Middle English; special use of hull1

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 96% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer