golf

G2O1L1F4
UK/ɡɒlf/UK/ɡɒf/US/ɡɑlf/US/ɡɔlf/

noun

A ball game played by individuals competing against one another in which the object is to hit a ball into each of a series of (usually 18 or nine) holes in the minimum number of strokes.

Similar
golf game
Very commonScrabble 8

Meanings

noungolf (uncountable)
  1. uncountablehobbiesA ball game played by individuals competing against one another in which the object is to hit a ball into each of a series of (usually 18 or nine) holes in the minimum number of strokes.

    In January, China’s state planner said it had ordered the closure of more than 100 golf courses in a multi-year campaign launched in 2011 to tackle illegal development in the sector. Golf has also been added to a list of Communist Party disciplinary violations, and is often cited in cases of graft.

    2017 October 16, Adam Jourdan, Matt Miller, “In the rough - China closes Wanda golf courses in chilly northeast”, in Himani Sarkar, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 18 Mar 2023, Business News
  2. uncountableinternational standardsAlternative letter-case form of Golf from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
verbgolf (third-person singular simple present golfs, present participle golfing, simple past and past participle golfed)

present singular third person golfs · participle present golfing · participle past golfed · past golfed

  1. intransitiveTo play the game of golf.

    Last mystery of all, he learned to golf.

    1894, Rudyard Kipling, The Day's Work/An Error in the Fourth Dimension
  2. computingTo write something in as few characters as possible (e.g. in code golf, regex golf)

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna game played on a large open course with 9 or 18 holes; the object is use as few strokes as possible in playing all the holes

Similar
golf game
Broader
outdoor game
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*kulbaz“club”
  2. Middle Dutchcolve
  3. Middle Scotsgolf
  4. Englishgolf

The word is first known in English from the 17th century as a borrowing from Middle Scots golf, gouff. Although the etymology is uncertain, the most likely origin is that it comes from the Middle Dutch colve, colf (“club”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kulbaz (“club”), related to German Kolben (“piston, rod”), Swedish kolv (“piston, rod”), Old English clopp (“rock; cliff”), English kelp.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans gholf
  • gholfball game
Arabic جُولْف, جُولْف
  • جُولْفball game
  • جُولْف (gulf)ball game
  • غُولْفball game
  • غُولْف (gulf)ball game
  • غُولْف (ḡūlf)ball game
Basque golf
  • golfball game
Bengali গল্ফ, গল্ফ খেলা
  • গল্ফball game
  • গল্ফ খেলা (golpho khela)play golf
Bulgarian голф, играя голф
  • голфball game
  • играя голфplay golf
Catalan golf
  • golfball game
Chinese Cantonese 哥爾夫球 /哥尔夫球, 高爾夫球 /高尔夫球
  • 哥爾夫球 /哥尔夫球 (go¹ ji⁵ fu¹ kau⁴)ball game
  • 高爾夫球 /高尔夫球 (gou¹ ji⁵ fu¹ kau⁴)ball game
Chinese Mandarin 高爾夫球 /高尔夫球, 高爾夫 /高尔夫
  • 高爾夫球 /高尔夫球 (gāo'ěrfū qiú)ball game
  • 高爾夫 /高尔夫 (gāo'ěrfū)ball game
Czech golf
  • golfball game
Danish golf
  • golfball game
Dutch golf, golfen
  • golfball game
  • golfenplay golf
Esperanto golfo, golfludo
  • golfoball game
  • golfludoball game
Estonian golf
  • golfball game
Finnish golf, kolopallo
  • golfball game
  • kolopalloball game
  • golfataplay golf
French golf, golfer
  • golfball game
  • golferplay golf
German Golf, golfen
  • Golfball game
  • golfenplay golf
Greek γκολφ
  • γκολφ (gkolf)ball game
Hebrew גּוֹלְף
  • גּוֹלְףball game
Hindi गोल्फ़, गोल्फ
  • गोल्फ़ball game
  • गोल्फ (golph)ball game
Hungarian golf, golfozik
  • golfball game
  • golfozikplay golf
Icelandic golf
  • golfball game
Indonesian golf
  • golfball game
Irish galf
  • galfball game
Italian golf
  • golfball game
Japanese ゴルフ
  • ゴルフ (gorufu)ball game
Korean 골프
  • 골프 (golpeu)ball game
Latin pilamalleus
  • pilamalleusball game
Latvian golfs
  • golfsball game
Lithuanian golfas
  • golfasball game
Malay golf
  • golfball game
Māori hahaupōro, korowha
  • hahaupōroball game
  • korowhaball game
Norwegian Bokmål golf
  • golfball game
Polish golf
  • golfball game
Portuguese golfe
  • golfeball game
Romanian golf
  • golfball game
Russian гольф
  • гольф (golʹf)ball game
Scottish Gaelic goilf
  • goilfball game
Slovak golf
  • golfball game
Spanish golf
  • golfball game
Swahili gofu
  • gofuball game
Swedish golf
  • golfball game
Tagalog golp
  • golpball game
Tamil கோல்ஃப்
  • கோல்ஃப் (kōlf)ball game
Thai กอล์ฟ
  • กอล์ฟ (gɔ́ɔp)ball game
Turkish golf
  • golfball game
Ukrainian гольф
  • гольф (holʹf)ball game
Urdu گولْف
  • گولْفball game
Vietnamese golf, gôn
  • golfball game
  • gônball game
Welsh golff
  • golffball game
Yiddish גאָלף
  • גאָלףball game
Zulu igalofu
  • igalofuball game

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with golf

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

golf. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/golf

MLA

“golf.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/golf. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “golf,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/golf.

Source: golf on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.