A warm ocean current of the northern Atlantic Ocean off eastern North America. It originates in the Gulf of Mexico and, as the Florida Current, passes through the Straits of Florida and then flows northward along the southeast coast of the United States. North of Cape Hatteras the Gulf Stream veers northeastward into the Atlantic Ocean, where it splits to form the North Atlantic Drift and the Canary Current.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
