gash
1 Americannoun
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gashes
plural
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a long, deep wound or cut; slash.
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Slang: Vulgar.
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the vagina.
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Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a woman considered as a sex object.
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verb (used with object)
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gashes,
present (3rd person singular)
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gashed,
past participle, past
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gashing
present participle
adjective
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wise, sagacious.
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neat; well-dressed; well-groomed.
adjective
verb
noun
adjective
Sensitive Note
When referring to a female, this term is used with disparaging intent and perceived as highly insulting. The word cunt shows a similar transfer of meaning from a woman’s genitalia to the woman herself.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gashsimple
-
gashessimple
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have gashedperfect
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has gashedperfect
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am gashingprogressive
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are gashingprogressive
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is gashingprogressive
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have been gashingperfect progressive
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has been gashingperfect progressive
Past
-
gashedsimple
-
had gashedperfect
-
was gashingprogressive
-
were gashingprogressive
-
had been gashingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gash1
First recorded in 1540–50; alteration of Middle English garsen, garcen “to make medical incisions” (with alteration of s to sh after r), from Old French garser, jarsier “to scarify, wound,” from unrecoreded Vulgar Latin charaxāre, from Greek charássein “to scratch, notch”; see origin at character
Origin of gash2
First recorded in 1700–10; origin uncertain
Origin of gash3
First recorded in 1580–90; origin uncertain
Explanation
A gash is a deep cut, like a gash on your knee from a biking accident, or a gash in the earth caused by workers who are digging up a broken sewer. The noun gash describes a wound or cut, so it makes sense that as a verb, gash describes the act of making that wound or cut, as in, people signing up for a knife skills class taught by a chef because they are tired of gashing their fingers when chopping vegetables.
Vocabulary lists containing gash
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act III
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Holes
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“They took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250 foot long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete,” Trump said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
His angular head topped with a green felt crown; his toothy mouth a sinister, grimacing gash; his eyes blackened with what looks like charcoal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026
Ball needed treatment for a gash near his eye after colliding with Lee as he scrambled to grab a loose pass in the first quarter.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
Figure, a startup with a $39 billion valuation, was sued last month by a former engineer who claims a malfunctioning robot had “carved a one-quarter-inch gash into a steel refrigerator door.”
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 27, 2025
Ocean water was pouring through the gash in the station’s outer wall.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
One day the pioneers who had planted the first trees on the windswept coastal plateau discovered huge gashes in the rich vegetation.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
She didn’t have a necropsy kit to do a detailed assessment, but noticed there wasn’t much blood, which might indicate it had severe gashes and died from blood loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
Satellite images of Yapacana National Park in Amazonas show deep gashes in the earth, where miners have dug enormous open pits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
The signs of devastation were all around us as we headed home – buildings had turned into rubble, small upturned boats sat in the middle of the streets and roads had great gashes in them.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2024
She cleaned his wounds and stitched the gashes on his side and forehead.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
Winger Kyle Steyn, who has scored three tries in the tournament, is fit after going off with a gashed leg last weekend.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Wednesday, flying by helicopter over the gashed hillside and deep fissures in fields below.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
Especially after halftime, once USC’s defense finally clamped down on a Northwestern offense that gashed the Trojans early on the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2025
Tagovailoa threw three interceptions, and the defense got gashed after Tagovailoa fought back to give them the late lead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025
He tried to ride a steer in a pasture, got tossed onto the ragged edge of a fallen tree, and limped home with his gashed knee bound in a handkerchief.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
The Cougars yielded 38-plus points for the third straight game, and the Sun Devils racked up 235 rushing yards, gashing WSU for chunk plays at almost every turn.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 30, 2023
The 49ers took advantage of Heyward’s absence, gashing the Steelers on the ground behind Christian McCaffery.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 10, 2023
Though Riley was careful not to openly criticize Grinch or any defender individually, he acknowledged that he was concerned about all those gashing runs and long passes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2023
She makes color-field paintings, including some with Gene Davis-like stripes, that she finishes by gashing with hundreds of small incisions.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2022
Not even the inevitable end to my ride—when I crashed to the pavement, gashing my forehead—dampened my spirits or my enthusiasm.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
