trough
a long, narrow, open receptacle, usually boxlike in shape, used chiefly to hold water or food for animals.
any of several similarly shaped receptacles used for various commercial or household purposes.
a channel or conduit for conveying water, as a gutter under the eaves of a building for carrying away rainwater.
any long depression or hollow, as between two ridges or waves.
Oceanography. a long, wide, and deep depression in the ocean floor having gently sloping sides, wider and shallower than a trench.: Compare trench (def. 4).
Meteorology. an elongated area of relatively low pressure.
the lowest point, especially in an economic cycle.
Origin of trough
1Other words from trough
- troughlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use trough in a sentence
They walked until two o'clock in the morning, stopping often this time to rest and to drink from the horses' watering troughs.
The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler WarnerAt the same time this descending water drifts along the bottom of the ocean troughs toward the equatorial realm.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerIt is the tree of which the canoes of Brazil are made, and serves besides for troughs of various kinds.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria GrahamWhere springs were discovered wayside fountains for men and watering-troughs for cattle were constructed.
The Private Life of the Romans | Harold Whetstone JohnstonThe food and water should be given three times a day, from thoroughly cleaned mangers or troughs.
Domestic Animals | Richard L. Allen
British Dictionary definitions for trough
/ (trɒf) /
a narrow open container, esp one in which food or water for animals is put
a narrow channel, gutter, or gulley
a narrow depression either in the land surface, ocean bed, or between two successive waves
meteorol an elongated area of low pressure, esp an extension of a depression: Compare ridge (def. 6)
a single or temporary low point; depression
physics the portion of a wave, such as a light wave, in which the amplitude lies below its average value
economics the lowest point or most depressed stage of the trade cycle
(intr) informal to eat, consume, or take greedily
Origin of trough
1Derived forms of trough
- troughlike, adjective
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
Scientific definitions for trough
[ trôf ]
The part of a wave with the least magnitude; the lowest part of a wave. Compare crest. See more at wave.
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. Compare ridge.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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