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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

According to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, since 1982 average annual gulf surface temperatures have warmed at nearly triple the rate of the world's oceans.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 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

The real gulf is no longer between races.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

The gulf would only grow wider as his stature rose.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Some foreign businesspeople have resorted to driving hundreds of miles between Gulf capitals to attend meetings in person while minimizing their exposure to airports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The Gulf states have bet hundreds of billions of dollars that building airports between the major air markets of Europe and Asia will let them grow into the world’s dominant aviation hubs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The war has cast a shadow on Persian Gulf nations that have long presented themselves as paragons of stability in a volatile region, mostly unaffected by the conflicts raging in the wider Middle East.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 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

From the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and south from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico was one of the most fertile agricultural belts in the world.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

All nine countries lining the two connected gulfs, including Iran under any management, will want passage restored.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

But wide gulfs remain between the government’s proposals and UC.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025

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

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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