Definition of "gulf" []

• A large area of a sea or ocean partially enclosed by land, especially a long landlocked portion of sea opening through a strait. (noun)
• A deep, wide chasm; an abyss. (noun)
• A wide gap, as in understanding: "the gulf between the Victorian sensibility and our own” ( Babette Deutsch). (noun)
• Something, such as a whirlpool, that draws down or engulfs. (noun)
• To engulf. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "As for drilling the rig count in the gulf is already up."
• "Not far south of where the laguna opens into the gulf is a reef, fairly shallow and close to shore."
• "This little area of red that you see here on the map, this is what we call the gulf loop current."