gutter

American  

[guht-er] / ˈgʌt ər /

noun

1. a channel at the side or in the middle of a road or street, for leading off surface water.

2. a channel at the eaves or on the roof of a building, for carrying off rainwater.

3. any channel, trough, or the like for carrying off fluid.

4. a furrow or channel made by running water.

5. Bowling. a sunken channel extending along each side of a bowling lane, to catch balls that stray over the edge.

6. the state or abode of those who live in degradation, squalor, etc..

   the language of the gutter.

7. the white space formed by the inner margins of two facing pages in a bound book, magazine, or newspaper.

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verb (used without object)

1. to flow in streams.

2. (of a candle) to lose molten wax accumulated in a hollow space around the wick.

3. (of a lamp or candle flame) to burn low or to be blown so as to be nearly extinguished.

4. to form gutters, as water does.

verb (used with object)

1. to make gutters in; channel.

2. to furnish with a gutter or gutters.

   to gutter a new house.

gutter British  

/ ˈɡʌtə /

noun

1. a channel along the eaves or on the roof of a building, used to collect and carry away rainwater

2. a channel running along the kerb or the centre of a road to collect and carry away rainwater

3. a trench running beside a canal lined with clay puddle

4. either of the two channels running parallel to a tenpin bowling lane

5. printing

   1. the space between two pages in a forme

   2. the white space between the facing pages of an open book

   3. the space between two columns of type

6. the space left between stamps on a sheet in order to separate them

7. surfing a dangerous deep channel formed by currents and waves

8. (in gold-mining) the channel of a former watercourse that is now a vein of gold

9. a poverty-stricken, degraded, or criminal environment

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verb

1. (tr) to make gutters in

2. (intr) to flow in a stream or rivulet

3. (intr) (of a candle) to melt away by the wax forming channels and running down in drops

4. (intr) (of a flame) to flicker and be about to go out

gutter Idioms  

1. see in the gutter.

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Other Word Forms

• gutter-like adjective
• gutterlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of gutter

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English gutter, goter, from Old French go(u)tiere, equivalent to goutte “drop” + -iere, feminine of -ier; gout, -er ²

Explanation

A gutter is a pipe or trough along the edge of a roof that carries rainwater away from a building. Another kind of gutter is the indentation beside a street curb. Water flows through these gutters too, usually into a storm drain. The purpose of the gutters on a roof is to prevent water damage to a structure or flooding around its foundation. A gutter directs the flow of rainwater away from the house, often into a drain or rain barrel. There are other kinds of gutters, too, like the gutters that drain water on the edge of a street and the gutters on the sides of a bowling lane. As a verb, gutter means "to flicker or burn unsteadily," like a candle in the wind.

Example Sentences

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars,” wrote Oscar Wilde.

From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026

The first reports of the crime were mostly objective — one newspaper described Short as a “beauteous 22-year-old” — but these soon devolved into salacious gutter journalism.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026

Indeed, everyone in Sennott’s LA throws around “I love yous” and air-kisses like chewing gum wrappers blowing into the gutter.

From Salon • Nov. 2, 2025

He made a big wager on natural gas when prices were in the gutter, and he has funded Comstock’s exploration at a time when its rivals are sticking with Wall Street’s strict capital edicts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025

But outside, he’d kicked the candy into the gutter, and on the way home, he’d told his father he wasn’t going back again.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

Related Words

• culvert
• dike
• duct
• eaves
• pipe
• sewer
• tube