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
Manuel Veth, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025
These efforts helped narrow the gulf between the performance of U.S. and Chinese AI tools on most popular benchmarks to single-digit percentages by the end of 2024.
—Sebastian Elbaum, Foreign Affairs, 13 June 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
After all, the two teams have the largest gulf in terms of Transfermarkt squad value among all teams at the tournament.
—Manuel Veth, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025
These efforts helped narrow the gulf between the performance of U.S. and Chinese AI tools on most popular benchmarks to single-digit percentages by the end of 2024.
—Sebastian Elbaum, Foreign Affairs, 13 June 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 brand’s signature high-definition cardigans came depicting Hawaiian islands and secluded bays, making for beautiful pieces that could double as wearable postcards.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
3 July 2025
-
The bay laurels, in fact, are making a major comeback after the 2021 freeze.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Noun
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Longtime White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf fell into the same trap and his team is still trying to crawl out of the abyss.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
4 July 2025
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The continuity of memory did not measure the abyss between a toddler’s body and a woman’s.—
Rebecca Solnit
May 29,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2025
Noun
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Other distinctive features of the main lodge include a dining room with canyon views, saloon, sunroom, auditorium and post office.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
14 July 2025
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Temperatures at the lowest canyon elevations will be well into the triple digits on Monday.—
Marshall Shepherd,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
Noun
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The changes should spur the expansion of housing in urban areas that are close to jobs and transportation and make an impactful contribution toward addressing the housing crisis in California by narrowing the gap between housing demand and supply.—
Phillip Molnar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 July 2025
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Families using vouchers now pay more out of pocket, with the average gap between voucher awards and tuition at $2,446, as private school costs continue to rise.—
Caroline Beck,
IndyStar,
10 July 2025
Noun
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Roughly a week after a polar vortex swept through Texas with snow and freezing temperatures, another cold snap is barreling into the Lone Star State just in time for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.—
Brandi D. Addison,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
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If the conditions are right, the vortex completes formation and starts spinning.—
Unnati Ashar,
Space.com,
2 July 2025
Verb
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Days after the Guadalupe River flooded and claimed dozens of lives, another major river in Texas has triggered warnings from the National Weather Service.—
Alexis Simmerman,
Austin American Statesman,
14 July 2025
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Thousands of comments flooded the platform owned by Trump.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
14 July 2025
Noun
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With 17 miles of sandy beaches and North America’s most diverse estuary, the Indian River Lagoon, there are plenty of budget-conscious activities for visitors.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
17 June 2025
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Newsom insists that the project is needed to increase the reliability of delta water deliveries as climate change alters Sierra snowpack runoff and the sea level rises, making the vast estuary more salty.—
George Skelton,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Sharks have roamed our oceans for over 400 million years, yet today many species are at risk due to overfishing and habitat loss.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
-
Warmer oceans and air mean more evaporation and more moisture in the atmosphere, which gets wrung out in the form of more intense rain or snow.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gulf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gulf. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
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