Word.ws English Dictionary

seagulling

seagulling noun: the practice, in Rugby Union, of forwards running in the back line rather than concentrating on their primary positional duties in open play (see rugby union positions). Also the present participle and gerund of seagull.

Noun

seagulling (uncountable)

  1. (Australia, New Zealand, UK, slang) The practice, in Rugby Union, of forwards running in the back line rather than concentrating on their primary positional duties in open play (see rugby union positions).
    • As long as he can stay away from the seagulling in the tight games.2002 May 25, Greig Blanchett, “Re: So. To The ABs”, in rec.sport.rugby.union (Usenet)
    • Jack has to cut out the seagulling and get in and do the dirty work.2009 December 28, Steve Hepburn, “Rugby: Oval ball gazing for 2011 World Cup”, in Otago Daily Times
  2. (boating slang) The practice of using a British Seagull outboard.
    • I'm going take the boat out and do some seagulling.
    • Happy Seagulling.2000 July 6, Miniature Embroideries [username], “Re: Ancient Seagull”, in uk.rec.sailing (Usenet)
  3. (New Zealand) The practice of working as a non-union casual stevedore.
    • Sometimes I went down to the Wellington wharves for what was called 'seagulling', where I joined a crowd of other men just before 8 a.m., hoping to be given the nod for a day's work.1995, Bryan Gould, Goodbye to All That, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 22
    • After two months there was a lull on the waterfront, seagulling declined, and I had to seek another job. By this time my hands were hard and I actually looked like a labourer, so the New Zealand Posts and Telegraph department took me on as a linesman.1997, Phillip Knightley, A Hack's Progress, J. Cape, →ISBN, page 25

Also used as

seagulling is also the present participle and gerund of seagull.

Examples of seagulling in a sentence

  • And while Williams cut down the seagulling, he still wasn't hitting the breakdown with any vigour.2011 August 29, lord shineything [username], “Re: AB Players”, in rec.sport.rugby.union (Usenet):
  • It isn't often young people get involved in Seagulling, never mind build their own boat to do so.2012 March, “Camden Sutherland's 'Waikato Bullet Boat'”, in The Gull:
  • As a young shipwright, I heard old timers warn me against seagulling or bypassing the union hall while seeking work.2001, Archie Green, Torching the Fink Books and Other Essays on Vernacular Culture, University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 180:

Origin of seagulling

By surface analysis, seagull + -ing.

Questions about seagulling

What does seagulling mean?
Seagulling means the practice, in Rugby Union, of forwards running in the back line rather than concentrating on their primary positional duties in open play (see rugby union positions).
How do you use seagulling in a sentence?
And while Williams cut down the seagulling, he still wasn't hitting the breakdown with any vigour.
What part of speech is seagulling?
Seagulling is a noun.

Words near seagulling in the dictionary

  1. seagull intersection
  2. seagull intersections
  3. seagull manager
  4. seagull managers
  5. seagulled
  6. seagulling
  7. seagulls
  8. seah
  9. seahabilitation
  10. Seaham
  11. Seahampton

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: seagulling (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-seagulling.ogg.

Cite this entry: “seagulling.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/seagulling. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.