gobi

G2O1B3I1
US/ˈɡoʊ.bi/

noun

cauliflower

Similar
ShamoDesert of Shamo
UncommonScrabble 7

Meanings

gobi1

noungobi (uncountable)

alternative gobhi

  1. Indiauncountablecookingcauliflower

Gobi2

proper nounthe Gobi

alternative obsolete Cobi · alternative obsolete Cobe · alternative obsolete Kobi · alternative obsolete Gobee · alternative obsolete Goby

  1. A large desert in Asia, spanning the countries of Mongolia and China.

    In 1941, Chang traveled to the remote Gobi Desert in Northwest China and lived in the Tun Huang Caves for two years and seven months.

    1975 August 24, “Picasso, Chinese artists in Taipei show”, in Free China Weekly, volume XVI, number 33, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2
    5 more examples

    In winter the thermometer on the Mongolian plateau sometimes drops to –40° Fahrenheit, yet the camels wander about with no sense of suffering. On the other hand, the Russian explorer, Prejevalski, found the temperature of the ground in the Gobi Desert in summer to be more than 140° Fahrenheit, and the camels are apparently as indifferent to this degree of heat as they are to the winter cold.

    1901 December 21, “Science and Industry”, in The Friend: A Religious and Literary Journal, volume LXXV, number 23, →OCLC, page 181, column 1

    These missionaries were good people of whose devotion America can be proud. Some months later under Boxer mob-violence they were driven out on to the Gobi Desert. But the Tao Tai gave them protection which saw them safely across the desert to the Russian frontier, though with much hardship.

    1951, Herbert Hoover, The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover, Years of Adventure 1874-1920, New York: Macmillan Company, →OCLC, →OL, page 44

    The Gobi Desert is a large desert in Asia. It covers about 500,000 square miles (1,294,994 sq km), stretching from the Tien Shan Mountains in the west and across southeastern Mongolia and northern China.

    2013, Moly Aloian, The Gobi Desert (Deserts Around the World), Crabtree Publishing Company, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 4

    The same livestock population explosion is damaging the overgrazed grasslands surrounding China’s Gobi Desert, where the dust storms are also increasing dramatically.

    2013, Al Gore, “Outgrowth”, in The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change, New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 193

    In November, I visited China’s rocket base deep in the frozen Gobi Desert to witness the launch of three astronauts during the Shenzhou 15 mission to China’s new space station.

    2022 December 16, Keith Bradsher, “A Visit Inside China’s Desert Rocket Base”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Dec 2022, Science

    Synonyms: Shamo, Desert of Shamo

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounA large desert in Asia, spanning the countries of Mongolia and China.

Similar
ShamoDesert of Shamo
Also see

Origin

gobi · noun

  1. Latincaulis
  2. Portuguesecouve“cabbage”
  3. Hindiगोभी
  4. Englishgobi

Borrowed from Hindi गोभी (gobhī), from Portuguese couve (“cabbage”), from Latin caulis. Doublet of caulis, cole, and kale.

Full word history & related roots →

Gobi · proper noun

  1. MongolianГовь
  2. EnglishGobi

From Mongolian Говь (Govʹ) or ᠭᠣᠪᠢ (Ɣobi).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic جُوبِي
  • جُوبِي (gūbī)desert
Chinese Cantonese 戈壁
  • 戈壁 (gwo¹ bik¹)desert
Chinese Mandarin 戈壁, 戈壁沙漠
  • 戈壁 (Gēbì)desert
  • 戈壁沙漠 (Gēbì shāmò)desert
French Gobi
  • Gobidesert
German Gobi
  • Gobidesert
Hindi गोबी मरुस्थल
  • गोबी मरुस्थल (gobī marusthal)desert
Irish Góibí, Gaineamhlach Ghóibí
  • Góibídesert
  • Gaineamhlach Ghóibídesert
Italian Gobi
  • Gobidesert
Japanese ゴビ, ゴビ砂漠
  • ゴビ (Gobi)desert
  • ゴビ砂漠 (Gobi sabaku)desert
Korean 고비, 고비 사막
  • 고비 (Gobi)desert
  • 고비 사막 (Gobi samak)desert
Norwegian Gobiørkenen
  • Gobiørkenendesert
Persian گبی
  • گبی (gobi)desert
Portuguese Gobi
  • Gobidesert
Russian Го́би, пусты́ня Го́би
  • Го́би (Góbi)desert
  • пусты́ня Го́би (pustýnja Góbi)desert
Spanish Gobi
  • Gobidesert
Swedish Gobiöknen
  • Gobiöknendesert
Tamil கோபி
  • கோபி (kōpi)desert
Vietnamese sa mạc Gô bi
  • sa mạc Gô bidesert

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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