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• gulf
  gulf

  noun

  a portion of an ocean or sea partly enclosed by land.
• Gulf
  Gulf

  noun

  the Persian Gulf

gulf

American  

[guhlf] / gʌlf /

noun

1. a portion of an ocean or sea partly enclosed by land.

2. a deep hollow; chasm or abyss.

   Synonyms:

   split, rift, cleft, gully, gorge, canyon

3. any wide separation, as in position, status, or education.

4. something that engulfs or swallows up.

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verb (used with object)

1. to swallow up; engulf.

Gulf ¹ British  

/ ɡʌlf /

noun

1. the Persian Gulf

2. 1. the Gulf of Carpentaria

   2. (modifier) of, relating to, or adjoining the Gulf

      Gulf country

3. the Hauraki Gulf

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gulf ² British  

/ ɡʌlf /

noun

1. a large deep bay

2. a deep chasm

3. something that divides or separates, such as a lack of understanding

4. something that engulfs, such as a whirlpool

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verb

1. (tr) to swallow up; engulf

gulf Scientific  

/ gŭlf /

1. A large body of ocean or sea water that is partly surrounded by land.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gulflike
  adjective
• gulfy
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of gulf

1300–50; Middle English go ( u ) lf < Old French golfe < Italian golfo < Late Greek kólphos, Greek kólpos bosom, lap, bay

Explanation

Deep, wide and often filled with water, a gulf is any vast and seemingly unbridgeable area. You've probably heard of the Gulf of Mexico, that large body of water that's partly surrounded by land. But a gulf doesn't have to be all about the ocean. If two people have vastly different cultures or opinions, you could say that there's a gulf between them — a large divide that neither side is willing or able to cross.

Example Sentences

Its engines fire and it climbs into the skies over the Gulf of Mexico to cheers and screams in the SpaceX control room.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

OPEC+ ministers meet Sunday to weigh higher production quotas in a bid to cap oil prices that have surged since the Iran war effectively choked off Gulf crude shipments.

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026

This failure will haunt Washington for decades, but the most immediate effects are felt among the Gulf Arabs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

“We weren’t doing it for the accolades. We weren’t in it to get the freebies and stuff,” Reed, 70, a retired CPA, remembered by phone from a cabin in British Columbia’s remote Northern Gulf Islands.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026

Johnson and his aides quickly finalized the language of what became known as the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin