gouge

[gouj] /gaʊdʒ/
noun
1.
a chisel having a partly cylindrical blade with the bevel on either the concave or the convex side.
2.
an act of gouging.
3.
a groove or hole made by gouging.
4.
an act of extortion; swindle.
5.
Geology.
  1. a layer of decomposed rocks or minerals found along the walls of a vein.
  2. fragments of rock that have accumulated between or along the walls of a fault.
verb (used with object), gouged, gouging.
6.
to scoop out or turn with or as if with a gouge:
to gouge a channel; to gouge holes.
7.
to dig or force out with or as if with a gouge:
to gouge out an eye.
8.
to make a gouge in:
to gouge one's leg.
9.
to extort from, swindle, or overcharge.
verb (used without object), gouged, gouging.
10.
to engage in swindling, overcharging, or the like:
I bought my clothes there before they began gouging.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English < French < Late Latin gu(l)bia; compare Old Provençal goja, Spanish gubia; perhaps < Celtic; compare Old Irish gulba sting, Welsh gylf beak, Cornish gilb borer
Related forms
gouger, noun
ungouged, adjective
Examples from the web for gouge
  • But a gouge doesn't have to remain a gouge, or a scratch a scratch.
  • To shore up profits, they gouge an ever-dwindling supply of full-fare mugs with ever-steeper ticket prices.
  • Moving glaciers gouge out basins and form steep-sided mountain valleys.
  • Amid the deepening gloom in the car industry, dealers have found one way to gouge for profit: hybrids.
  • Y, watching an old steam shovel gouge a pit for building foundations.
  • Unions in the public sector gouge taxpayers and unions in the private sector gouge the consumer.
  • It would be easy to accidentally gouge the map, though, so take care with it and don't display it in a high traffic area.
  • You'll see rutting bulls gouge deep holes in the fragile ground.
  • It's letting companies gouge customers who don't have many other alternatives for service.
  • It is a potato-shaped rock covered with craters, unexplained long grooves, and a large gouge in the center.
British Dictionary definitions for gouge

gouge

/ɡaʊdʒ/
verb (mainly transitive)
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 & Canadian, informal) to extort from
4.
(also intransitive) (Austral) 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 & Canadian, informal) extortion; swindling
Word Origin
C15: from French, from Late Latin gulbia a chisel, of Celtic origin
Word Origin and History for gouge
n.

mid-14c., "chisel with a concave blade," from Old French gouge, from Late Latin gubia, alteration of gulbia "hollow beveled chisel," probably from Gaulish (cf. Old Irish gulban "prick, prickle," Welsh gylfin "beak").

v.

1560s, "to cut with a gouge," from gouge (n.). Meaning "to force out with a gouge" (especially of the eyes, in fighting) attested by 1800. Meaning "swindle" is American English colloquial from 1826 (implied in plural noun gougers). Related: Gouged; gouging.

gouge in Medicine

gouge (gouj)
n.
A strong curved chisel used in bone surgery.

Slang definitions & phrases for gouge

gouge

verb

To cheat; flimflam, scam: Looks respectable, but this place regularly gouges the customer (1875+)