trough

American  

[trawf, trof, trawth, troth] / trɔf, trɒf, trɔθ, trɒθ /

noun

1. a long, narrow, open receptacle, usually boxlike in shape, used chiefly to hold water or food for animals.

2. any of several similarly shaped receptacles used for various commercial or household purposes.

3. a channel or conduit for conveying water, as a gutter under the eaves of a building for carrying away rainwater.

4. any long depression or hollow, as between two ridges or waves.

5. Oceanography. a long, wide, and deep depression in the ocean floor having gently sloping sides, wider and shallower than a trench.

6. Meteorology. an elongated area of relatively low pressure.

7. the lowest point, especially in an economic cycle.

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trough British  

/ trɒf /

noun

1. a narrow open container, esp one in which food or water for animals is put

2. a narrow channel, gutter, or gulley

3. a narrow depression either in the land surface, ocean bed, or between two successive waves

4. meteorol an elongated area of low pressure, esp an extension of a depression Compare ridge

5. a single or temporary low point; depression

6. physics the portion of a wave, such as a light wave, in which the amplitude lies below its average value

7. economics the lowest point or most depressed stage of the trade cycle

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verb

1. informal (intr) to eat, consume, or take greedily

trough Scientific  

/ trôf /

1. The part of a wave with the least magnitude; the lowest part of a wave.

2. Compare crest See more at wave

3. A narrow, elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure occurring at the ground surface or in the upper atmosphere, and often associated with a front.

4. Compare ridge

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Other Word Forms

• troughlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of trough

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English trōh; cognate with Dutch, German, Old Norse trog

Example Sentences

That lower high, coupled with the fresh low hit last week, extends the pattern of lower peaks and lower troughs that many chart watchers say defines a downtrend.

From MarketWatch

The S&P 500 soared nearly 35% from last year’s Liberation Day trough, powered by tailwinds from tech, Fed rate cuts, and a resilient domestic economy.

From Barron's

“If the 2022 road map is any guide, equity markets and cyclical currencies will trough only after confirming that the peak in energy prices is in the rearview mirror,” said the pair.

From MarketWatch

The analyst writes that conditions at its asset-management and commodities/global markets units are near or at a trough, while returns from banking and financial services are already strengthening.

From The Wall Street Journal

Production declined 1.1% overall in 2025, with economists expecting that to be the bottom of an industrial trough for Europe’s largest economy.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• trench