Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense, 3rd person singular presenttense gouges, present participle gouging, past tense, past participle gouged
1. verb
If you gouge something, you make a hole or a long cut in it, usually with a pointed object.
He gouged her cheek with a screwdriver. [VERB noun preposition]
...quarries which have gouged great holes in the hills. [VERB noun preposition]
Synonyms: scoop, cut, score, dig (out) More Synonyms of gouge
Gouge is also a noun.
...a muddy gouge in the ground.
2. countable noun
A gouge is a tool which is used for cutting and shaping wood.
Synonyms: gash, cut, scratch, hollow More Synonyms of gouge
3. verb
If you say that a business gouges its customers, you mean that it forces them to pay an unfairly high price for its goods or services.
[mainly US, informal, disapproval]
Banks and credit-card companies have been accused of gouging their customers. [VERB noun]
gouginguncountable noun
The airline industry has charged the oil companies with price gouging.
Phrasal verbs:
See gouge out
gouge in British English
(ɡaʊdʒ)
verb(mainly tr)
1. (usually foll by out)
to scoop or force (something) out of its position, esp with the fingers or a pointed instrument
2. (sometimes foll by out)
to cut (a hole or groove) in (something) with a sharp instrument or tool
3. US and Canadian informal
to extort from
4. (also intr) Australian
to dig for (opal)
noun
5.
a type of chisel with a blade that has a concavo-convex section
6.
a mark or groove made with, or as if with, a gouge
7. geology
a fine deposit of rock fragments, esp clay, occurring between the walls of a fault or mineral vein
8. US and Canadian informal
extortion; swindling
Word origin
C15: from French, from Late Latin gulbia a chisel, of Celtic origin
gouge in American English
(gaʊdʒ)
noun
1.
a chisel with a curved, hollowed blade, for cutting grooves or holes in wood
2.
a.
an act of gouging
b.
the groove or hole made by gouging
3.
any deep groove or hole that is considered a blemish
4. Informal
an act of overcharging or cheating of money; extortion or swindle
verb transitiveWord forms: gouged or ˈgouging
5.
to make a groove, hole, etc. in (something) with or as with a gouge
6.
to scoop out; dig or force out
to gouge out dirt
7. US
in fighting, to push one's thumb into the eye of
8. US, Informal
to cheat out of money, etc.; also, to overcharge
Derived forms
gouger (ˈgouger) US
noun
Word origin
ME < OFr < VL gubia, for LL gulbia < Celt (as in OIr gulban, goad, thorn) < IE base *gelebh-, to scrape, hollow out > Gr glaphein, to carve
Examples of 'gouge' in a sentence
gouge
It was as if he was gouging his eyes.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Critics say it is the product of unabashed and unjustifiable price gouging.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Yet any regular passenger knows the price gouging goes much deeper than demands to see our boarding passes.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It claws at you day and night, gouging deep wounds into your mind.
The Sun (2012)
This he made by gouging a hole in the lid of a plastic storage box and inserting the head of a desk lamp.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
gouge
British English: gouge VERB
If you gouge something, you make a hole or a long cut in it, usually with a pointed object.
He gouged her cheek with a screwdriver.
American English: gouge
Brazilian Portuguese: talhar
Chinese: 凿
European Spanish: hacrse un corte
French: taillader
German: bohren
Italian: fare un buco in
Japanese: くりぬく
Korean: 구멍을 뚫다
European Portuguese: talhar
Latin American Spanish: hacrse un corte
(verb)
Definition
to cut (a hole or groove) in something with a pointed object
quarries which have gouged great holes in the hills
Synonyms
scoop
cut
I cut myself shaving.
score
Lightly score the surface of the steaks with a sharp cook's knife.
dig (out)
scratch
Knives will scratch the worktop.
hollow (out)
claw
chisel
gash
He gashed his leg while felling trees.
incise
After polishing, a design is incised or painted.
(noun)
Definition
a mark or groove made by gouging
iron-rimmed wheels digging great gouges into the road's surface
Synonyms
gash
a long gash just above his right eye
cut
The operation involves making several cuts in the cornea.
scratch
I pointed to a number of scratches on the tile floor.
hollow
score
scoop
notch
The blade had a hole through the middle and a notch on one side.
groove
Grooves were made in the shelf to accommodate the back panel.
trench
Dig a trench at least a metre deep.
furrow
Bike trails crisscrossed the grassy furrows.
incision
It involves making a tiny incision in the skin.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of cut
Definition
(of a sharp instrument) to penetrate or open up (a person or thing)
I cut myself shaving.
Synonyms
slash,
nick,
wound,
lance,
gash,
lacerate,
incise
in the sense of cut
Definition
a stroke or incision made by cutting
The operation involves making several cuts in the cornea.
Synonyms
incision,
nick,
rent,
stroke,
rip,
slash,
groove,
slit,
snip
in the sense of furrow
Definition
a long narrow trench made in the ground by a plough