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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of gulf
Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 15 Apr. 2026
Across that gulf, love and memory strain.
—Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 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
Creator-showrunner-writer-director Lee Sung Jin returns with an all-new cast and all-new beef, one situated at a Montecito country club where the massive gulf between workers and management provides the sizzle.
—Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 15 Apr. 2026
Across that gulf, love and memory strain.
—Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 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
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The body of her friend, fellow USF doctoral student Zamil Limon, was in another garbage bag found two days before that on a bridge over the bay.—
Mike Schneider,
Sun Sentinel,
1 May 2026
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The bay colt also won Florida's Fountain of Youth Stakes in February, where Chief Wallabee took second.—
Alex Sundby,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
Noun
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To lose your home, your native land, that’s like falling from a bridge into a huge abyss with no way back.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
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There’s a parallel universe where possibly one of the greatest songs of all time, and definitely the best song ever written about the boys being back in town, was squandered off into the abyss of record-store crates and never given a chance to shine.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Few journeys bring you as close to this breathtaking landscape as the Rocky Mountaineer, a train that threads through canyons, forests, and mountain passes.—
Taryn White,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Apr. 2026
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The mile-deep canyon is 278 river miles long, and 18 miles across at its widest point.—
Catherine Garcia,
TheWeek,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The new batch of money is separate from a $245 million pool of new funds officials already allocated to help close looming budget gaps.—
Talia Soglin,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
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The Canadian reverse logistics company’s pathway-level data report details the limitations, trade-offs and infrastructure gaps that defining the sector—something Debrand likened to opening the black box of textile circularity.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Footwear News,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Rescuers ended up using ropes and a piece of equipment called the Arizona vortex, which was invented in northern Arizona.—
Holly Williams,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
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Sections of the granite supports of the Keck statue are cannily manipulated and embellished with stars and swirling vortex-forms in Lithichrome paint into works of art themselves.—
Horace D. Ballard,
Artforum,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Heavily armed Secret Service agents flooded the stage and a broad collection of law enforcement and National Guard descended on the hotel.—
Calvin Woodward,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
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Other guests at the event ducked under tables, and other armed agents flooded the room for protection.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But from June to August, a third enter the Churchill River estuary to feed, mate and give birth.—
Sarah Sekula,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
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Constructing protective structures such as levees and dikes can help, as can preserving natural landscapes, such as wetlands and estuaries that can act as a natural sponge to absorb floodwaters, in and near the cities, Shao and her colleagues wrote.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But when a mysterious aircraft sinks into the ocean, Ally’s peaceful world is suddenly thrown into danger and is thrust into a journey real-life marine creatures as the film explores themes of friendship and courage.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
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The Orion capsule will be returned to NASA's Kennedy Space Center for additional study following the mission — but before it was plucked from the ocean, the divers managed to capture images of the capsule and its heat shield underwater.—
Chelsea Gohd,
Space.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gulf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gulf. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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