Meanings
plural herring gulls
- Any of a group of large seagulls in the Larus genus.
Flocks of herring gulls are often seen near piers and wharves where they perform a valuable service by feeding on garbage and refuse.
1911, Anna Botsford Comstock, Handbook of Nature Study, 24th edition, published 1939, page 106- Specifically the European herring gull (Larus argentatus).
He lit his first cigarette, a Balkan and Turkish mixture made for him by Morlands of Grosvenor Street, and watched the small Waves lick the long seashore and the fishing-fleet from Dieppe string out towards the June heat-haze followed by a paper-chase of herring-gulls.
1953, Ian Fleming, “L’Ennemi Écoute”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 28Synonyms: shitehawk
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSpecifically the European herring gull (Larus argentatus).
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian гларус
- гларус (glarus)large seagull
French goéland
- goélandlarge seagull
German Silbermöwe
- Silbermöwelarge seagull
Greek ασημόγλαρος
- ασημόγλαρος (asimóglaros)large seagull
Polish mewa srebrzysta
- mewa srebrzystalarge seagull
Welsh gwylan ysgadan
- gwylan ysgadanlarge seagull
Cite this entry
herring gull. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herring%20gull
“herring gull.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herring%20gull. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “herring gull,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/herring%20gull.
Source: herring gull on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.