: a deep or precipitous cleft : ravine
especially : one occupied by a torrent

Examples of gulch in a Sentence

the gulch floods in the spring with the runoff from the mountains, so wait until later in the summer to hike it
Recent Examples on the Web The gulch and the forest around it became a bonfire pit waiting for a spark. Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024 But years of deforestation and the introduction of invasive species such as black wattle and eucalyptus radically changed the area around the gulch. Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024 The book is written in the second person, addressing the protagonist’s daughter, a decision that imparts a desire for understanding, to cross the gulch that has opened between them. Naomi Huffman, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2024 Take your time — for here in the gulch, far removed from the day-to-day world, time is deep and still. Jim Holden, The Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2024 Army commanders note that artificial intelligence and drones cannot hold territory or manage resupply in soggy gulches where electricity and clean water are scarce. Damien Cave Mark Abramson, New York Times, 15 Dec. 2023 Her house sits in a gulch in between two tall hills and her nearest neighbor is about three miles away, so her only other option is satellite service. Madeleine Ngo, New York Times, 19 Sep. 2023 Gayle and Ross Hart, a couple in their 70s, see the fire cross a gulch near their neighborhood in Kula. Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 15 Aug. 2023 Those in Kula also shared harrowing stories of trying to save themselves and their homes as flames raced over fields and down the gulch toward them. Brianna Sacks, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gulch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from English dialect gulch to gulp, from Middle English gulchen

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gulch was in 1832

Dictionary Entries Near gulch

Cite this Entry

“Gulch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gulch. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

gulch

noun
: ravine

More from Merriam-Webster on gulch

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