San Francisco Bay

American  

noun

1. a bay in western California: the harbor of San Francisco; connected with the Pacific Ocean by the Golden Gate strait. 50 miles (80 kilometers) long; 3–12 miles (5–19 kilometers) wide.

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San Francisco Bay British  

noun

1. an inlet of the Pacific in W California, linked with the open sea by the Golden Gate strait. Length: about 80 km (50 miles). Greatest width: 19 km (12 miles)

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San Francisco Bay Cultural  

1. Located in northern California; entered from the Pacific Ocean through a strait called the Golden Gate.

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Example Sentences

Last year, 21 gray whales were found dead around San Francisco Bay and 40% of those were from ship collisions.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

AI-powered cameras are being deployed in the San Francisco Bay to prevent ship collisions with gray whales, which contributed to 21 deaths in 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

To stop the growing number of ships colliding with migrating whales, researchers are deploying a network of AI-powered cameras in the San Francisco Bay.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

Kaiser Permanente is still trying to determine the source of bacteria responsible for 19 recent cases of Legionella infection identified at a hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

For years I had heard about the Golden Gate, a narrow stretch of water connecting the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco Bay.

From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz