What does "hulk" mean?

1. (a large person) a very large, heavy, and sometimes clumsy person. 2. (a ship's shell) the body of an old ship that can still float but is no longer used for sailing. 3. (a large structure) the large, empty frame of a building or machine that has been destroyed or abandoned. 4. (to loom) to appear as a large, heavy, and often scary shape. 5. (to move clumsily) to move in a heavy or clumsy way because of your size.

hulk

n. · v.

US //ˈhəɫk// UK //hˈʌlk// hulk

1 a large person (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

a very large, heavy, and sometimes clumsy person.

a person of massive size and strength, often implying a degree of clumsiness or an imposing physical presence.

Example

The man was a great hulk of a guy who had to duck to get through the door.

Example

Standing nearly seven feet tall, the silent hulk of a bodyguard loomed behind the diplomat throughout the entire press conference.
- runt
2 a ship's shell (n.)
C1 Advanced Technical Nautical

the body of an old ship that can still float but is no longer used for sailing.

the hull of an abandoned or decommissioned ship, often stripped of its engines and rigging and used for storage or housing.

Example

The rusted hulk of an old fishing boat sat rotting in the harbour.

Example

The navy converted the decommissioned frigate into a floating hulk to serve as a temporary barracks for the shipyard workers.

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3 a large structure (n.)
C1 Advanced Literary

the large, empty frame of a building or machine that has been destroyed or abandoned.

the remains of a large, broken-down, or abandoned object or structure.

Example

The burnt-out hulk of the factory stood as a reminder of the fire.

Example

The charred hulk of the airliner lay in the field, surrounded by investigators searching for the flight data recorder.
4 to loom (v.)
C2 Proficiency Literary

to appear as a large, heavy, and often scary shape.

to appear or loom as a massive, often threatening or imposing bulk.

Example

The dark mountains hulked over the tiny village in the valley.

Example

The ruins of the cathedral hulked against the evening sky, casting long, jagged shadows across the town square.
- loom
- tower
5 to move clumsily (v.)
C2 Proficiency Literary

to move in a heavy or clumsy way because of your size.

to move in a heavy, ponderous, or awkward manner, typically due to great physical bulk.

Example

The giant hulked across the room, making the floorboards creak with every step.

Example

He hulked through the crowded market, his broad shoulders accidentally bumping into several smaller pedestrians.
- lumber
- plod
- tiptoe
- glide

Etymology 1

From Middle English hulk, hulke, holke (“hut; shed for hogs; type of ship; husk, pod, shell; large, clumsy person; a giant”) (probably reinforced by Middle Dutch hulk, huelc, and Middle Low German hulk, holk, hollek (“freighter, cargo ship, barge”)), from Old English hulc (“light ship; heavy, clumsy ship; cabin, hovel, hut”), from Proto-West Germanic huluk, hulik, from Proto-Germanic hulukaz, hulikaz (“something hollowed or dug out, cavity”), equivalent to hole/hollow + -ock. Cognate with Old High German holcho (“cargo or transport ship, barge”) (whence Middle High German holche, modern German Holk), Old Norse hólkr (“metal tube, ring”), dialectal Norwegian holk, hylke (“wooden barrel”), Middle English holken (“to dig out, gouge”). Relation to Medieval Latin hulcus (“ship”) is uncertain, as Old English may have borrowed from Latin or vice versa, but the form holcas rather points to borrowing from Ancient Greek ὁλκάς (holkás, “ship being towed; cargo ship, ship used for trading, holcad”) (compare Ancient Greek ἕλκω (hélkō, “to drag”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to draw, pull”)). See more at the Old English entry hulc. The verb is derived from the noun.

Etymology 2

A variant of holk (“to dig out, hollow out, make hollow; to dig up, excavate; to dig into, investigate”), from Middle English holken (“to dig out, hollow out; to dig up, excavate”) (compare holk (“a hollow; body cavity”)), perhaps from Middle Low German hȫlken (“to hollow out, gouge”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic hulaz (“hollow”, adjective); further etymology uncertain, perhaps either from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- (“to cover”), or *ḱewh₁- (“to swell; to be strong”). Compare also Old English āhlocian (“to dig out”).