Meanings
present singular third person gulches · participle present gulching · participle past gulched · past gulched · alternative dialectal gulk · alternative dialectal glutch
- obsoleteTo fall heavily.
plural gulches · alternative dialectal gulk · alternative dialectal glutch
- A ravine-like or deep V-shaped valley, often eroded by flash floods; shallower than a canyon and deeper than a gully.
"A crack is progressing up through the Goldminers' apartment. They are most disturbed by the appearance of this gulch in their wall since it undermines their confidence in the structure of the building which as you know my management has taken great care to keep sound and durable."
1963, J P Donleavy, A Singular Man, published 1963 (USA), page 47 - obsoleteAn act of gulching or gulping.
- obsoleteA glutton.
You muddy gulche, darst look me in the face while mine eyes sparkle with revengeful fire?
1607, Thomas Tomkis, Lingua, or the Combat of the Tongue and the Five Senses for Superiority, published 1657, act 5, scene 161 more example
You did not! where was your sight, Œdipus? you walk with hare's eyes, do you? I'll have them glazed, rogue; an you say the word, they shall be glazed for you: come we must have you turn fiddler again, slave, get a base viol at your back, and march in a tawney coat, with one sleeve, to Goose-fair; then you'll know us, you'll see us then, you will, gulch, you will.
1601, Ben Jonson, The Poetaster, act 3, scene 1
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishgulchen“to gulp, spew”
- Englishgulch
From earlier gulsh (“sink in, gush out”), from Middle English gulchen (“to gulp, spew”), probably from the source of gulp. Likely not related to gully (“ravine formed by water”) despite the similarities.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian клисура
- клисура (klisura)a narrow v-shaped valley
Czech roklina, rokle
- roklinaa narrow v-shaped valley
- roklea narrow v-shaped valley
Dutch kloof
- kloofa narrow v-shaped valley
Finnish kuru
- kurua narrow v-shaped valley
French ravin
- ravina narrow v-shaped valley
German (tiefe) Schlucht
- (tiefe) Schluchta narrow v-shaped valley
Italian burrone, valle stretta
- burronea narrow v-shaped valley
- valle strettaa narrow v-shaped valley
Māori āpiti
- āpitia narrow v-shaped valley
Polish parów, wąwóz
- parówa narrow v-shaped valley
- wąwóza narrow v-shaped valley
Russian ущелье
- ущелье (uščelʹje)a narrow v-shaped valley
Spanish garganta
- gargantaa narrow v-shaped valley
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gulch
All rhymes →Cite this entry
gulch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gulch
“gulch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gulch. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gulch,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gulch.
Source: gulch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.