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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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
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Recent Examples of gulf
Andrea Mitchell, NBC news, 19 Mar. 2026
During the tanker war of the ’80s, Iran and Iraq attacked 450 ships in the Persian gulf, and their most devastating weapon was the mine.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
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
One of the senior gulf officials said the Houthis were on standby, ready to act.
—Andrea Mitchell, NBC news, 19 Mar. 2026
During the tanker war of the ’80s, Iran and Iraq attacked 450 ships in the Persian gulf, and their most devastating weapon was the mine.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
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
-
Temperatures soar well into the 80s away from the bay on Monday afternoon.—
Cutter Martin,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Today, the bay holds some of the richest marine biodiversity on earth, a fact that would have delighted Ricketts and Steinbeck.—
Alexandra Genova,
TheWeek,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Carrie makes the internal transfer on the system, moving me from my old role to my new one, ‘accidentally’ deletes the job listing from the website, and then rescues my employee profile from the digital abyss.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The person who survives the abyss is the one with a dozen people standing at the top holding a rope.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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People who want to get closer to the animals can book a ranch tour to access more corners of the 600-acre estate, which includes over 500 acres of equestrian trails and a 250-acre canyon.—
Nora Heston Tarte,
Mercury News,
6 Apr. 2026
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My goal was to inspect calcium carbonate rocks, found near methane seeps at the base of the canyon walls, in search of methane-eating microbes.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The vote came after Chan recommended forgoing raises for city employees because of a budget gap.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
8 Apr. 2026
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Teams will use the five-week gap between the races in Japan and Miami to knuckle down at their factories and develop car upgrades that could boost their fortunes upon returning to the track in May.—
Luke Smith,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Single-digit cold invades North Around the same time as the heat starts blasting Phoenix, the polar vortex — a system that usually keeps frigid air penned up near the North Pole — is forecast to send its chill deep into the Midwest and East, even bordering some of the Southeast, Maue said.—
Seth Borenstein,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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Normally bomb cyclones get their energy from warm ocean waters, but this one will draw power from the polar vortex.—
Seth Borenstein,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The city has since explored smaller buyouts in places that flood repeatedly, including the Jewel Streets neighborhood, also known as the Hole, at the Brooklyn-Queens border.—
Eric Klinenberg,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Philadelphia adjusted at the break, pushing fullbacks higher and flooding the midfield, and Charlotte had no response.—
Colin Cerniglia,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But the estuary, which had been silting up since the 11th century, had different ideas.—
Rob Crossan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Mar. 2026
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The team tethered the crustaceans to posts at varying times of the year and at varying depths of Maryland’s Rhode River, a tidal estuary in Chesapeake Bay.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Church bells ring briefly each quarter hour to sound time, their melodic peals blending with ocean breezes.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 Apr. 2026
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Earth’s tectonics, volcanism, oceans, atmosphere and life have all erased the geological records of the planet’s earliest eras.—
Robin George Andrews,
Scientific American,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gulf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gulf. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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