gulf
noun
a portion of an ocean or sea partly enclosed by land.
gulf
American
[guhlf]
/ gʌlf /
gulf
1
British
/ ɡʌlf /
noun
-
a large deep bay
-
a deep chasm
-
something that divides or separates, such as a lack of understanding
-
something that engulfs, such as a whirlpool
verb
Gulf
2
British
/ ɡʌlf /
noun
-
the Persian Gulf
-
-
the Gulf of Carpentaria
-
(modifier) of, relating to, or adjoining the Gulf
Gulf country
-
-
the Hauraki Gulf
gulf
Scientific
/ gŭlf /
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing gulf
The United States
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 4
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They Call Me Güero
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And the gulf grew in the latest results.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
As frontier models advance, the gulf between what they do and what they say they do is growing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
The gulf between contribution rates of those paying loans and those without debt widened with age.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Age gaps in digital literacy are a global concern, yet the gulf has widened massively in the hyper-connected and fast-ageing country, prompting national campaigns to bridge it.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
He was handsome even now, but his stillness was terrible, the gulf between sleep and death immense.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
At the time, one possibility was that Simon could turn northward, enter the Gulf of California, and eventually make landfall.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Martin Kelly told BBC Verify that Iran is widening its attacks and targeting ships near the coast of Gulf Arab states and in the Gulf of Oman.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The International Energy Agency said Wednesday that Gulf crude shipments rose by 4.4 million barrels a day to 13.9 million barrels a day in September, reaching more than 75% of prewar levels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Central Command said Tuesday that American forces had assisted Gulf partners in shipping more than 19 million barrels of crude through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
“The only sea passage from the PersianGulf to the Gulf of Oman and then out to sea. Twenty-one percent of the world’s oil travels through the narrow passage.”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
The Strait of Hormuz has been a critical trading entrepôt for centuries, a passageway between the Persian and Oman gulfs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
Soaring income inequality and a housing crisis have widened the gulfs between classes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2023
They will need answers if they are to bridge the generational gulfs exposed at recent general elections.
From BBC ● May 19, 2023
The other two spawn in the spring in either the central Baltic or its gulfs farther north.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 1, 2022
She could feel the emptiness, the vast black gulfs of air that yawned around her.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
