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gouge

[gouj]
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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.
  3. a groove or hole made by gouging.
  4. an act of extortion; swindle.
  5. Geology.
    1. a layer of decomposed rocks or minerals found along the walls of a vein.
    2. fragments of rock that have accumulated between or along the walls of a fault.
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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.
  3. to make a gouge in: to gouge one's leg.
  4. to extort from, swindle, or overcharge.
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verb (used without object), gouged, goug·ing.
  1. to engage in swindling, overcharging, or the like: I bought my clothes there before they began gouging.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for gouger

Historical Examples

  • Mr. Gouger's face bore its gentlest expression at that moment.

    A Black Adonis

    Linn Boyd Porter

  • Gouger scented the difficulty under which he labors, in a moment.

    A Black Adonis

    Linn Boyd Porter

  • "No," responded Mr. Gouger, disposing of that theory in one breath.

    A Black Adonis

    Linn Boyd Porter

  • "You might at least have got an introduction for him," said Gouger, reflectively.

    A Black Adonis

    Linn Boyd Porter

  • Mr. Gouger pursed up his lips, and uttered an impatient, "Pah!"

    A Black Adonis

    Linn Boyd Porter

British Dictionary definitions for gouger

gouger

noun
  1. a person or tool that gouges
  2. Irish dialect a low-class city lout
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gouge

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
  3. US and Canadian informal to extort from
  4. (also intr) Australian to dig for (opal)
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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
  3. geology a fine deposit of rock fragments, esp clay, occurring between the walls of a fault or mineral vein
  4. US and Canadian informal extortion; swindling
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Word Origin

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

gouge

v.

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.

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gouge

n.

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").

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
gouger in Medicine

gouge

(gouj)
n.
  1. A strong curved chisel used in bone surgery.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.