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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

Smushed paper cups in the gutter, long strands of clear plastic, bits of food wrappers.

From Literature

Natalie watched as the wind stripped the gutter off a house, as easy as peeling the skin off a banana.

From Literature

Then there are some measures already required under previous wildfire regulations — such as removing dead vegetation like twigs and leaves, from the ground, roof and gutters — that are not under debate.

From Los Angeles Times

Her husband diligently cleans every gutter and any sort of debris that could allow rain to pool near their home, she said.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr Vernon said he landed in a gutter and saw the car passing to his left.

From BBC

Related Words

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