trough

American  

[trawf, trof, trawth, troth] / trɔf, trɒf, trɔθ, trɒθ /

noun

1. a long, narrow, open receptacle, usually boxlike in shape, used chiefly to hold water or food for animals.

2. any of several similarly shaped receptacles used for various commercial or household purposes.

3. a channel or conduit for conveying water, as a gutter under the eaves of a building for carrying away rainwater.

4. any long depression or hollow, as between two ridges or waves.

5. Oceanography. a long, wide, and deep depression in the ocean floor having gently sloping sides, wider and shallower than a trench.

6. Meteorology. an elongated area of relatively low pressure.

7. the lowest point, especially in an economic cycle.

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trough British  

/ trɒf /

noun

1. a narrow open container, esp one in which food or water for animals is put

2. a narrow channel, gutter, or gulley

3. a narrow depression either in the land surface, ocean bed, or between two successive waves

4. meteorol an elongated area of low pressure, esp an extension of a depression Compare ridge

5. a single or temporary low point; depression

6. physics the portion of a wave, such as a light wave, in which the amplitude lies below its average value

7. economics the lowest point or most depressed stage of the trade cycle

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verb

1. informal (intr) to eat, consume, or take greedily

trough Scientific  

/ trôf /

1. The part of a wave with the least magnitude; the lowest part of a wave.

2. Compare crest See more at wave

3. A narrow, elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure occurring at the ground surface or in the upper atmosphere, and often associated with a front.

4. Compare ridge

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Other Word Forms

• troughlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of trough

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English trōh; cognate with Dutch, German, Old Norse trog

Example Sentences

The purchase came at what turned out to be essentially the stock’s trough.

From MarketWatch

Production declined 1.1% in 2025 overall, though economists expect that to be the bottom of an industrial trough for Europe’s largest economy.

From The Wall Street Journal

That would mean the Bank's base rate hitting a trough of 3-3.5%, considerably above the levels seen just a few years ago.

From BBC

In at least two instances, we are told of a village or castle that kept one of the great worms at bay by offering it a trough of milk every day.

From Literature

The South Korean consumer electronics giant’s earnings, dragged down by weak demand and higher tariff-related costs, likely hit a trough last year, Hwang says.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• trench