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

Example Sentences

"There was no flooding of the event venue, only localized occurrences such as leaks" that were caused by broken gutters, the response continued, adding these had already been repaired.

From Barron's

"Rain gutters in winter in Melbourne, that was always going to end badly," he says.

From BBC

Having visited several years ago, I was struck by the smell of urine from the gutters that line the cell blocks.

From BBC

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

Then there’s the basic issue of trash, which ranges from discarded fast food wrappers lining gutters to illegal dumping problems in Watts, Wilmington and other neighborhoods.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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