Gulf States

American  

[guhlf steyts] / ˈgʌlf ˌsteɪts /

plural noun

1. the states of the U.S. bordering on the Gulf of Mexico: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

2. Also called Persian Gulf States.  the oil-producing countries bordering on or located near the Persian Gulf: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

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Gulf States British  

plural noun

1. the oil-producing states around the Persian Gulf: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman

2. the states of the US that border on the Gulf of Mexico: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas

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Example Sentences

As for the Gulf States, Zelensky said he hoped for their help defending Ukraine against Russia.

From BBC • May 2, 2026

“There is clearly a need to at least manage the spending going forward and not be as ambitious,” said Tim Callen, a visiting fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

“This constellation of foreign investment from China and from Gulf States, with complex and sometimes competing relationships with the United States, demands rigorous, not perfunctory review,” Booker and the others wrote.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

“That’s a relatively compelling combination,” says Robert Mogielnicki, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute.

From Barron's • Oct. 30, 2025

North America, west to the Plains; breeds from the Gulf States to Massachusetts, Vermont, and Minnesota; winters from North Carolina to Cuba and Mexico.

From Color Key to North American Birds with bibiographical appendix by Chapman, Frank M.