English Reference
Noun

gulp

n.
C2 Proficiency US /ˈɡəɫp/ UK /ɡˈʌlp/ gulp UK spelling gulped, gulps Computing

n.a very large amount of data that a computer system processes at once. It is a technical term used to describe how much information a program can handle in one go.

n.a large quantity of data processed by a computer system in a single operation. Often used in the context of memory management or data transfer rates.


SIMPLE

The system can handle a large data gulp without crashing.

CONTEXTUAL

When the server receives a massive data gulp from the client, it must process the information in smaller chunks to avoid memory overflow.

COMPLEX

Modern streaming protocols are designed to manage a data gulp by breaking the incoming stream into manageable packets that can be reassembled on the receiving end without loss.

But even if Earth evades being gulped up, the Sun’s heat will toast everything on Earth, and no complex life will be able to survive.

The Conversation· 3 Sept 2026

Mounted on handcrafted hobbyhorses, the dancers prance in circles, stamp, gulp down buckets of water, and chomp on fodder.

JSTOR Daily· 7 Aug 2026

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.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin dum gulpen
Level C2 · Proficiency
Frequency Occasional
Updated