gouge

[ gouj ]
See synonyms for: gougegougedgouginggouger on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a chisel having a partly cylindrical blade with the bevel on either the concave or the convex side.

  2. an act of gouging.

  1. a groove or hole made by gouging.

    • an act or instance of extorting or overcharging; a swindle.

    • the amount of money extorted or overcharged:a gouge of $20 for shipping and delivery.

  2. Geology.

    • a layer of decomposed rocks or minerals found along the walls of a vein.

    • fragments of rock that have accumulated between or along the walls of a fault.

verb (used with object),gouged, goug·ing.
  1. to scoop out or turn with or as if with a gouge: to gouge a channel; to gouge holes.

  2. to dig or force out with or as if with a gouge: to gouge out an eye.

  1. to make a gouge in: to gouge one's leg.

  2. to extort from, overcharge, or swindle: drug companies that gouge consumers and the government.

verb (used without object),gouged, goug·ing.
  1. to engage in extortion, overcharging, or swindling: I bought a lot of my clothes there before they began gouging.

Origin of gouge

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from French, from Late Latin gu(l)bia; compare Old Provençal goja, Spanish gubia; perhaps from Celtic; compare Old Irish gulba “sting,” Welsh gylf “beak,” Cornish gilb “borer”

Other words from gouge

  • goug·er, noun
  • un·gouged, adjective

Words Nearby gouge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use gouge in a sentence

  • But he finished the task at last and began to gouge a channel in the planking close to the other ribs.

    Blow The Man Down | Holman Day
  • It was as though a giant had taken a gouge and cut a bay right through the sea cliffs.

    The Beach of Dreams | H. De Vere Stacpoole
  • A small gouge would assist the penknife, and render the operation less difficult.

    Wanderings in South America | Charles Waterton
  • He was honest enough still for that, though he had not the courage to admit how deep a gouge the luncheon made in his savings.

    What Will People Say? | Rupert Hughes

British Dictionary definitions for gouge

gouge

/ (ɡaʊdʒ) /


verb(mainly tr)
  1. (usually foll by out) to scoop or force (something) out of its position, esp with the fingers or a pointed instrument

  2. (sometimes foll by out) to cut (a hole or groove) in (something) with a sharp instrument or tool

  1. US and Canadian informal to extort from

  2. (also intr) Australian to dig for (opal)

noun
  1. a type of chisel with a blade that has a concavo-convex section

  2. a mark or groove made with, or as if with, a gouge

  1. geology a fine deposit of rock fragments, esp clay, occurring between the walls of a fault or mineral vein

  2. US and Canadian informal extortion; swindling

Origin of gouge

1
C15: from French, from Late Latin gulbia a chisel, of Celtic origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012