# gulp

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɡʌlp/ · frequency rank #31,584

## Definitions
1. The usual amount swallowed.
2. The sound of swallowing, sometimes indicating fear.
3. An unspecified small number of bytes, often two.

## Etymology
From Middle English gulpen, probably from West Flemish or Middle Dutch gulpen, golpen, of uncertain origin. Perhaps of imitative origin, or related to Dutch galpen (“to roar, squeal”), English galp, gaup (“to gape”).
Related to German Low German gulpen (“to gush out, belch, gulp”), West Frisian gjalpe, gjalpje, gjealpje (“to gush, spurt forth”), Danish gulpe, gylpe (“to gulp up, disgorge”), dialectal Swedish glapa (“to gulp down”), Old English galpettan (“to gulp down, eat greedily, devour”). More at galp.

## Easily confused with
- **guy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-guy)
- **gun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-gun)
- **gut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-gut)
- **gum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-gum)
- **Gus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-gus)
- **Guo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-guo)
- **guys** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-guys)
- **guns** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-guns)
- **guru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-guru)
- **guts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-guts)
- **Gunn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-gunn)
- **gums** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-gums)
- **gust** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-gust)
- **gump** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-gump)
- **gush** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-gush)
- **gurl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gulp-vs-gurl)
- **GP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gp-vs-gulp)
- **GL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gl-vs-gulp)
- **GU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gu-vs-gulp)
- **gap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gap-vs-gulp)

## Common misspellings (6)
`ggulp`, `glup`, `gullp`, `gulpp`, `gupl`, `uglp`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gulp