scull
/skʌl/noun, verb
scull is spelled S-C-U-L-L: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 67,454th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “scull vs skull” about 70 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, scull means “A single oar mounted at the stern of a boat and moved from side to side to propel the boat forward” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scull is sculls.
How many letters and syllables are in scull?
| Letters | 5: S-C-U-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 67,454th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is scull?
Scull appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 67,454th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce scull?
- /skʌl/
- /skʊl/
Scull has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-scull.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with scull
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: skull (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: skull.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of scull
- sculls plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sculling participle, present
- sculled participle, past
- skol
- skull
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scull mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A single oar mounted at the stern of a boat and moved from side to side to propel the boat forward.
- 2
One of a pair of oars handled by a single rower.
- 3
A small rowing boat, for one person.
- 4
A light rowing boat used for racing by one, two, or four rowers, each operating two oars (sculls), one in each hand.
- 5
archaicArchaic spelling of skull.
- 6
A skull cap. A small bowl-shaped helmet, without visor or bever.
- 7
The skua gull.
- 8
obsoleteA shoal of fish.
verb
- 1
To row a boat using a scull or sculls.
- 2
To skate while keeping both feet in contact with the ground or ice.
- 3
AustraliaslangTo drink the entire contents of a drinking vessel without pausing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scull in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does scull come from?
From Middle English sculle (“a type of oar”), of uncertain origin, possibly from North Germanic, from Old Norse skola (“to rinse, wash”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).