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
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Highlights include the Great Stone Door, a dramatic cliff offering sweeping views of the gulf.
—Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean, 22 Sep. 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 between who Nelson really might be and how an aggregate of cultures—Colombian, American, capitalist, masculine—has molded him is the source of the play’s tragedy.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Highlights include the Great Stone Door, a dramatic cliff offering sweeping views of the gulf.
—Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean, 22 Sep. 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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To top it off, literally, the cantilevered primary suite floats above the bay like a luxury yacht, offering owners a dressing room, breakfast bar, and a green onyx bath.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
21 Oct. 2025
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The new 12,000-square-foot store has higher ceilings, more gasoline fueling pumps, a two-bay drive-thru car wash, additional parking and a separate diesel fueling area, according to village documents.—
Cathy Kozlowicz,
jsonline.com,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The spirits of the three boys then help to defeat the Grabber and he's sent back to the abyss.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
18 Oct. 2025
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With each loss, with each mistake Glenn makes — on the field, at the podium — questions about his ability to do the impossible (bring the Jets back from the abyss) intensify.—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The drama continues to unfold in lower canyons into December.—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Oct. 2025
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And a wide range of brands including fast-casual restaurant Sweetgreen and luxury outerwear brand Canada Goose have embraced cowboy hats and rusted-red canyon backdrops in ad campaigns.—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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And a lot of the pseudepigrapha, like the fake gospels and fake apocalypses, fill in gaps in the record that can serve latter-day, post-biblical purposes.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
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The age gap between their characters was also something thought out by screenwriters David Swift, Charles Shyer, and Nancy Meyers (who also served as the film's director).—
Stephanie Wenger,
PEOPLE,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The often misunderstood polar vortex is awakening again.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
16 Oct. 2025
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These vortices are called flux ropes, and satellites had previously observed small flux ropes – but our work helped uncover how they are generated.—
Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti,
The Conversation,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This is not a rewriting of history as much as a DDoS-ing of it—flooding the zone with so much synthetic crap that engaging with reality and humanity becomes just one of many content experiences to choose from.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
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Comments flooded in celebrating the bond between a girl and her furry best friend.—
Andrew R. Chow,
Time,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Mangroves exist in the intertidal zones of warm rivers, estuaries and bays, growing in the sediment brought to the coast by the freshwater rivers and tides, according to the Australia Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
16 Oct. 2025
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In partnership with Leave No Trace, Martin County offers the tours for free, helping visitors discover the natural beauty of the coastline’s mangroves, estuaries, hammocks, and trails.—
Kelsey Glennon,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Both healthy and sick sea stars carried a ton of Vibrio bacteria—which was expected, since the genus is found all over the ocean.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
17 Oct. 2025
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The hotel contains 15 rooms and a pool exclusively for guests that overlooks the ocean.—
Emilio Parra Doiztua,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gulf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gulf. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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