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• gulf
  gulf

  noun

  a portion of an ocean or sea partly enclosed by land.
• Gulf
  Gulf

  noun

  the Persian Gulf

gulf

American  

[guhlf] / gʌlf /

noun

• gulfs
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to swallow up; engulf.

Gulf ¹ British  

/ 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

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gulf ² British  

/ 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

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verb

1. (tr) to swallow up; engulf

gulf Scientific  

/ gŭlf /

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gulflike
  adjective
• gulfy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gulfs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of gulf

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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gulf Gulf gulfs

He predicts a situation going forward he characterizes as “Schrödinger’s Strait,” whereby the chokepoint in the Iranian gulf is theoretically open but in practice, still closed.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

And as the game wore on, the gulf between the two sides became more evident, with England running in three tries in the final minutes to put an exclamation point on their win.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 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

The lizards had satisfied their curiosity, but there was still a big gulf in social status between them and a hawk.

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

Gulf state airports have been targeted by Iran and its militia allies, driving down traffic by a third this year in some cases.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The greater risks of flying into the Gulf add to costs related to insurance, reschedulings, longer flight paths and repositioning planes from airports that are getting attacked.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Army colonel who has taught officers in Gulf Arab militaries, including Saudi Arabia’s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

MANAMA, Bahrain — Conferences in the Persian Gulf are usually positive affairs, with government officials, executives of state-owned companies and armies of consultants touting petro-fueled visions promising fantastical technology and prosperity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Then a ride in the back of someone’s truck, a Gulf sign on the highway, someone’s apartment?

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

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

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

There sometimes are gulfs in how communications issues are perceived, the audit showed.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 29, 2022

It came from the stars and the black velocities, and the shining movements, and the silent gulfs of space.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

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