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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of gulf
Tom Rende, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
The bigger the gulf between those two figures, the less affordable homes are.
—Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 24 Apr. 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
The gulf was so big between them that the difference was equal to the distance between the Warriors and the 17th place finisher.
—Tom Rende, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
The bigger the gulf between those two figures, the less affordable homes are.
—Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 24 Apr. 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
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The sailing club is one of the oldest in the nation, founded by Chicago businessmen in 1897, keeping sailboats on its property and racing them on the bay.—
Robert McCoppin,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2025
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There, the participants have the choice to kayak in the bay, go wine tasting, visit a floating sauna, or try snowshoeing.—
Katie Nadworny,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2025
Noun
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And if left unchecked, the legal abyss can grow ever wider.—
Amanda Taub,
New York Times,
3 May 2025
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She’s headed back into the abyss and that cycle of suffering and escape and return that’s moved and frustrated viewers across the years.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
27 May 2025
Noun
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The beautiful undulating canyons have been sculpted by water and time and offer a peacefulness rarely found elsewhere – but watch out for the rattlesnakes and scorpions.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
7 June 2025
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Another attraction different from its neighbors, Santa Rosa’s Lobo Canyon is reported to feature spectacular sandstone cliffs, but the trek to the canyon is described by the Park Service as a strenuous 9.6-mile round-trip hike.—
Paul Bersebach,
Oc Register,
4 June 2025
Noun
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So that would be my biggest concern, is whether or not that financial gap between those that can afford it and those that can’t creates way too many haves and way too many have-nots.—
Mitch Light,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
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Your People Strategy Is A Core Strategy Labor gaps remain a real constraint, especially in skilled trades and tech-adjacent roles.—
Eddy Azad,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
Noun
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Was Gen Z always going to be caught in this vortex of uncertainty?—
Colleen Batchelder,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
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This effort could reveal hitherto undiscovered and unexpected patterns of movement, like vortices around the poles of the sun similar to those spotted above the poles of Venus and Saturn.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
11 June 2025
Verb
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At a time when the demagogue Father Coughlin was flooding the radio with antisemitic hate speech, Berg offered counterprogramming.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
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By Sunday, the National Guard had arrived in the city, and images of heavily armed officers confronting peaceful demonstrators, including journalists and musicians, began flooding social media.—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Even the resort felt far away; A bridge over an estuary (home to my snappy crocodile neighbors) separated my room from the resort’s main gathering areas.—
Maya Kachroo-Levine,
Travel + Leisure,
22 May 2025
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Florida’s abundant resources and management, bountiful fish supply, easy access to the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and a myriad of reefs, wrecks, estuaries, and bays, make the Southeastern state an angler’s paradise.—
JP Shaffer,
Miami Herald,
20 May 2025
Noun
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Step Back The mission and long-term plan behind AIM is to address the impacts of climate change, specifically by building seawalls that can protect coastal areas from rising ocean levels, Sadilek said.—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
10 June 2025
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Our goal is to explain the journey and the importance of ocean literacy and education.—
Martino Carrera,
Footwear News,
10 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gulf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gulf. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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