# seagulling

Pronunciation: say "SEE-gul-ing" /ˈsiː.ɡʌl.ɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle of seagull. *(Australia, New Zealand)* — present participle and gerund of seagull
   - Simple: The -ing form of seagull. Use it after am, is, are, was or were, or to name the action.
   - _He spent the second half seagulling out wide, leaving his forwards a man short at the breakdown._
   - _Coaches penalize players who keep seagulling rather than doing the hard work up front._

## Noun

2. In rugby union, the practice of forwards running in the back line instead of focusing on their primary positional duties during open play. *(slang, Australia, British, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: In rugby, when forwards run in the back line instead of doing their own jobs.
   - _Persistent seagulling by the back-row forwards drew sharp criticism from the coaching staff._
   - _The team's seagulling created overlaps out wide but exposed the forward pack at the breakdown._
3. The practice of running a boat with a British Seagull outboard motor.
   - Simple: Using a small British Seagull engine to power a boat.
   - _Weekend seagulling on the estuary appeals to those who love tinkering with vintage outboards._
   - _He took up seagulling after restoring a 1950s motor he found in a shed._
4. The practice of working as a non-union casual stevedore, hired job by job to load and unload ships. *(New Zealand)*
   - Simple: Doing casual work loading and unloading ships without joining a union.
   - _Years of seagulling on the waterfront left him without the security the union men enjoyed._
   - _During the strike, some men turned to seagulling to feed their families._

## Origin

Formed from "seagull" combined with the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/seagulling (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).