: 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
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.
Overlooking not only the river but the neighboring Gebbers’ family apple and cherry orchards, the heaving ridges and rugged gulches at Scarecrow lend themselves to speed slots, blind shots, punchbowl greens, and holes that boomerang around or play over massive waste areas. Erik Matuszewski, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025 Three rock climbers were ascending a sport climbing route in a Colorado gulch when one of them fell to their death, officials said. Brooke Baitinger, Sacbee.com, 30 July 2025 One longtime and renowned Newport Beach resident, silver screen icon John Wayne, helped turn a gulch in the Upper Newport Bay into a private tennis club, initially called the John Wayne Tennis Club, now known as Palisades Tennis Club. Richard Dunn, Oc Register, 17 July 2025 The beauty, indeed, pulls it into the gulches of noir. Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 30 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for gulch

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gulch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gulch. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

gulch

noun
: ravine

More from Merriam-Webster on gulch

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