1
as in bay
a part of a body of water that extends beyond the general shoreline
we dipped our feet in the warm waters of the gulf
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in abyss
an immeasurable depth or space
the gulf of understanding between the two men was too wide for them to ever get along
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in canyon
a narrow opening between hillsides or mountains that can be used for passage
the gulf was too wide to cross, so we had to hike down into it and go through it
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in gap
an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge)
a wide gulf in the defensive wall meant the city was in grave danger
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in vortex
water moving rapidly in a circle with a hollow in the center
the doomed ship was sucked into the gulf and consigned to Davy Jones's locker
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to flood
to cover with a flood
with the administration gulfed by so many real problems, it's absurd for the president to concern himself with this nonissue
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gulf
Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
The tensions are a sign of the growing gulf between Netanyahu and his Western allies.
—Kristina Karisch, The Hill, 21 Aug. 2025
Ferris Jabr, Smithsonian, 8 Jan. 2018
Read More: Gulf Spat Escalates as Saudi Arabia, U.A.E. Media Attack Qatar
Institutional and individual investors from the GCC sold 34.6 million riyals ($9.5 million) of Qatari stocks on Monday, the most in a single trading session since March 21.
—Glen Carey, Bloomberg.com, 30 May 2017
See All Example Sentences for gulf
Noun
In a sense, the checker is re-reporting a piece, probing for weak spots, reaching a hand across the gulf of misunderstanding.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
The tensions are a sign of the growing gulf between Netanyahu and his Western allies.
—Kristina Karisch, The Hill, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
So many gulfs separate us now: geographical, anatomical, psychological.
—Ferris Jabr, Smithsonian, 8 Jan. 2018
Read More: Gulf Spat Escalates as Saudi Arabia, U.A.E. Media Attack Qatar
Institutional and individual investors from the GCC sold 34.6 million riyals ($9.5 million) of Qatari stocks on Monday, the most in a single trading session since March 21.
—Glen Carey, Bloomberg.com, 30 May 2017
See All Example Sentences for gulf
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gulf
Noun
-
That goes for fabric softener, coffee grounds, bay leaves, and sonic repellant devices, which have no scientific basis.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Set along the shoreline of Cap d’Antibes, the restaurant features a dreamy panorama of the Mediterranean with sailboats gliding past the bay, and the Esterel Mountains rising in the distance.—
Jeryl Brunner,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Back on the Danish frigate, in the Nuuk Fjord, flanked by Greenland’s bleak mountains of sheer black rock, the boom of practicing naval artillery guns reverberates into the Arctic abyss, as fighter jets scream overhead.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The two turnovers put the Panthers in a 10-point hole in the middle of the first quarter, and they were forced to climb out of the abyss all game.—
DIAMOND VENCES,
Charlotte Observer,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Sure, there are some spots that are vulnerable to cheap homers, but the middle third of the field is a canyon, and all other types of base hits are suppressed there.—
Tony Blengino,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
The canyon between Laura and the couple remains vast after Laura told Cherry in Episode 3 that Daniel died after his rock-climbing accident just to get Cherry out of their lives.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
With the gap between predictive models and regulatory maps now exposed, pressure is building on municipalities and state agencies to modernize infrastructure and flood mitigation planning.—
Theo Burman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
-
While the Dell still trailed the Acer, the gap was narrower than in the CPU tests.—
Charles Jefferies,
PC Magazine,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Cathedral Rock offers an iconic hike and, according to believers in healing energy portals (a major contingent in Sedona), harbors a powerful vortex.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Over the longer term, forecasters will watch whether the vortex remains stable or weakens later this fall.—
Brandi D. Addison,
jsonline.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Hortmans’ assassination received a flurry of coverage over the strange circumstances under which it was carried out, with pictures of Boelter in his silicone mask initially flooding social media.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The United States is flooded with nearly half a billion guns, and the stockpile does not vanish just because the murder rate dips.—
John J. Donohue,
Time,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The topic is on how coastal estuaries are home to hundreds of species, and much of it is microscopic and underwater.—
Linda Mcintosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Croatan spans 160,000 acres and includes pine forests, saltwater estuaries, bogs, and raised swamps.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
After analyzing over 2,000 hours of ocean acoustic recordings gathered over 12 years, marine biologists say that groupers convey specific messages to one another about courtship and territory with their grunts.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
18 Sep. 2025
-
As ecosystems around the world increasingly face extreme and sometimes irreversible damage due to human activity, these nine planetary boundaries help define safe limits for the earth, from ozone depletion and air pollution to ocean acidification and climate change.—
Elisabeth Brier,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gulf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gulf. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share