gull wing
noun
variants
or gullwing
or less commonly gull-wing
plural gull wings or gullwings also gull-wings
1
: a door on a car or airplane that opens upward from hinges at the top
The doors [of the Pagani Huayra sports car] are gull wings that open upwards …—
Richard Hammond
Richard HammondThe "Pixel" [concept car] has doors reminiscent of the DeLorean's gullwings and no instruments other than the driver's iPad.—Alistair Blair
—usually gullwing or gull-wing when used before another nounAlistair Blaira gull-wing coupe
gullwing doors
also
: a car that features gull wings
From its shape to its fanciful … doors, the US $186,000 Mercedes SLS AMG harks back to the classic SL gull-wing of the '50s. —Lawrence Ulrich
Lawrence Ulrich 2
: an airplane wing slanting upward from the fuselage for a short distance and then leveling out
The latest designs for a supersonic jet with "gull wings", which would enable flights between London and New York in 3.5 hours, have just been unveiled.—Helen Coffey
Helen CoffeyExamples of gull wing in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
McLaren has previously favored dihedral doors, but these are anhedral—colloquially known as gull wings.
—Jason Barlow, WIRED, 6 Oct. 2024
When a future Navigator was previewed as a concept car some years back, it was shown with a giant, birdlike gull wing door on either side, each of which folded up above the roof, exposing a giant opening that provided simultaneous access to the first two of the vehicle’s three rows.
—Brett Berk, Architectural Digest, 16 Aug. 2024
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Jason Barlow, WIRED, 6 Oct. 2024
When a future Navigator was previewed as a concept car some years back, it was shown with a giant, birdlike gull wing door on either side, each of which folded up above the roof, exposing a giant opening that provided simultaneous access to the first two of the vehicle’s three rows.
—Brett Berk, Architectural Digest, 16 Aug. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Gull wing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gull%20wing. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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