Persian Gulf

American  

noun

1. an arm of the Arabian Sea, between SW Iran and Arabia. 600 miles (965 km) long.

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Persian Gulf British  

noun

1. a shallow arm of the Arabian Sea between SW Iran and Arabia: linked with the Arabian Sea by the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman; important for the oilfields on its shores. Area: 233 000 sq km (90 000 sq miles)

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Persian Gulf Cultural  

1. Arm of the Indian Ocean between Arabia and Iran.

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The Persian Gulf oil fields are among the most productive in the world.

The Persian Gulf region was dominated by Britain for most of the twentieth century. After Britain's withdrawal in the late 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union competed for influence in the region. (See Persian Gulf War.)

Example Sentences

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Persian Gulf waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally travels.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

The Iran war has prompted Persian Gulf petrostates to invest billions in new infrastructure to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

First, the more than 170 tankers now floating in the Persian Gulf have to leave it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

Iran last month created the Persian Gulf Strait Authority as it tries to assert dominance over the waterway.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026

My oldest son, he fought in the first Persian Gulf conflict.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander