gouge

[ gouj ]

/ gaʊdʒ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gouge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

an act of gouging.

a groove or hole made by gouging.

an act of extortion; swindle.

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.

to scoop out or turn with or as if with a gouge: to gouge a channel; to gouge holes.

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

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

to extort from, swindle, or overcharge.

verb (used without object), gouged, goug·ing.

to engage in swindling, overcharging, or the like: I bought my clothes there before they began gouging.

Nearby words

Origin of gouge

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

Related formsgoug·er, nounun·gouged, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gouger

Gouger scented the difficulty under which he labors, in a moment.
A Black Adonis|Linn Boyd Porter
Mr. Gouger's face bore its gentlest expression at that moment.
A Black Adonis|Linn Boyd Porter
Only one, Mr. Gouger, who was with him at the present moment.
A Black Adonis|Linn Boyd Porter
My trees are troubled with flathead borers and leaf-crumplers, and my apples by gouger.
The Apple|Various

Mr. Gouger looked oddly at his friend, whose face was perfectly serious.
A Black Adonis|Linn Boyd Porter

British Dictionary definitions for gouger (1 of 2)

gouger

/ (ˈɡaʊdʒə) /

noun

a person or tool that gouges

Irish dialect a low-class city lout

British Dictionary definitions for gouger (2 of 2)

gouge

/ (ɡaʊdʒ) /

verb (mainly tr)

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

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

US and Canadian informal to extort from

(also intr) Australian to dig for (opal)

noun

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

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

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

US and Canadian informal extortion; swindling

Word Origin for gouge

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

Word Origin and History for gouger (1 of 2)

gouge

1560s, "to cut with a gouge," from gouge (n.). Meaning "to force out with a gouge" (especially of the eyes, in fighting) attested by 1800. Meaning "swindle" is American English colloquial from 1826 (implied in plural noun gougers). Related: Gouged; gouging.

Word Origin and History for gouger (1 of 2)

gouge

mid-14c., "chisel with a concave blade," from Old French gouge, from Late Latin gubia, alteration of gulbia "hollow beveled chisel," probably from Gaulish (cf. Old Irish gulban "prick, prickle," Welsh gylfin "beak").

gouge

noun

verb (used with object), gouged, goug·ing.

verb (used without object), gouged, goug·ing.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of gouge

Examples from the Web for gouger

British Dictionary definitions for gouger (1 of 2)

gouger

noun

British Dictionary definitions for gouger (2 of 2)

gouge

verb (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for gouge

Word Origin and History for gouger (1 of 2)

gouge

Word Origin and History for gouger (1 of 2)

gouge

Medicine definitions for gouger

gouge

n.