gulf

[guhlf]

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.

verb (used with object)

1. to swallow up; engulf.

Gulf

¹

/ 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

gulf

²

/ 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

verb

1. (tr) to swallow up; engulf

gulf

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

Other Word Forms

• gulflike adjective
• gulfy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gulf¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of gulf¹

C14: from Old French golfe, from Italian golfo, from Greek kolpos

Example Sentences

Epstein replied: "There. Is a gulf air that leaves at 950 with a stop in Bahrain".

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Chief among them is that there is far more AI computing infrastructure spending than there is AI revenue, a gulf that is widening by the day.

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Worse, slanting political lines so that one party or the other is guaranteed victory only widens the gulf that has helped turn Washington’s into its current slough of dysfunction.

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After three years with the ascot aficionados, I realized that the cultural gulf between us wasn’t a cause of inequality; it was a symptom of it.

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But the meeting also showed the gulf between the two leaders' approaches.

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