Gobi

American  

[goh-bee] / ˈgoʊ bi /

noun

1. a desert in E Asia, mostly in Mongolia. About 500,000 sq. mi. (1,295,000 sq. km).

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Gobi British  

/ ˈɡəʊbɪ /

noun

1. Chinese name: Shamo.  a desert in E Asia, mostly in Mongolia and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China: sometimes considered to include all the arid regions east of the Pamirs and north of the plateau of Tibet and the Great Wall of China: one of the largest deserts in the world. Length: about 1600 km (1000 miles). Width: about 1000 km (625 miles). Average height: 900 m (3000 ft)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Gobian
  adjective

Example Sentences

The Gobi March had drawn elite, savvy ultrarunners from around the globe who’d been preparing for this race for years, and I wasn’t going to be able to just drop them like regular marathoners.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

One is the Inner Mongolia region's Bayan Obo mining district on the edge of the Gobi Desert, which is rich in "light" rare earths used for magnets in everyday items.

From Barron's • Dec. 21, 2025

The three astronauts waved goodbye to colleagues and family members at the remote Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center base in the Gobi Desert in northwest China as a band played a patriotic song.

From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025

Across from the Gobi Tent, the Aperol Piazza is an excuse to soak in aperitivo culture.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2025

"Not too cold, I hope? I'll never understand why our launch complex is in the middle of the Gobi Desert."

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir