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

Explanation

If you live on a farm, you already know that a trough is what animals eat out of. The word actually refers to the shape of the container, and can mean anything that is low and hollowed out — like a curve on a graph or a depression in the ground. In the olden days, people, like animals, ate from troughs. Gradually, we got fancy enough to divide our food between bowls and plates, but there is some lingering connection between the idea of trough and rough, peasant living.

Example Sentences

"When the plate boundary later moved further south towards the modern Azores, the formation of the King's Trough also came to a halt."

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

In 2024, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its first special advisory for a possible "megaquake" in the area, known as the Nankai Trough, before lifting it a week later.

From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026

It lies about 242 feet below sea level in the Salton Trough, which over thousands of years has cycled between filling with Colorado River water and drying out.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2025

Experts were put on heightened alert because of where the epicentre sat - at the edge of the Nankai Trough, an area of seismic activity which stretches along Japan's Pacific coast.

From BBC • Aug. 15, 2024

From painting by Rosa Bonheur  The Ship of the Desert  At the Watering Trough.

From Friends and Helpers by Eddy, Sarah J.

Related Words

• trench