gore

1 of 4

noun (1)

1
: a small usually triangular piece of land
2
a
: a tapering or triangular piece (as of cloth in a skirt)
b
: an elastic gusset for providing a snug fit in a shoe

gore

2 of 4

verb (1)

gored; goring

transitive verb

1
: to cut into a tapering triangular form
2
: to provide with a gore

gore

3 of 4

verb (2)

gored; goring

transitive verb

: to pierce or wound with something pointed (such as a horn or knife)
gored by a bull

gore

4 of 4

noun (2)

1
: blood
especially : clotted blood
2
: gruesomeness depicted in vivid detail

Examples of gore in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Director: Joseph Kosinski Tommy Wirkola’s gooey, pleasantly icky Christmas action-comedy is a mix of childlike whimsy and gleeful gore. EW.com, 31 Jan. 2024 The filmmakers don’t skimp on the violence and gore. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 24 Jan. 2024 While the coordinated elastic gores make for an extra comfortable silhouette, these boots run a touch narrow, so opt out if your feet are on the wider side. Calin Van Paris, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2024 Beginning in 2020, Teixeira and his friends had littered several private servers, including Thug Shaker Central, with racist and antisemitic posts, gore and imagery from terrorist attacks — all in apparent violation of Discord’s community guidelines. Shane Harris, Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2023 However, the real laughs and appeal of Dead Alive come from how over-the-top the gore and effects really get. Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 16 Oct. 2023 In fact, hardly any blood is shed on-screen until the big figure-skating finale — a Looney Tunes fight scene in which audiences will be too distracted by the wild blades-of-glory choreography to take much notice of the brief bit of gore. Peter Debruge, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024 Rather than falling into the trap of the provocative and taboo for the sake of shock value, Roth emerges as a more mature filmmaker, without entirely sacrificing his sense of humor and penchant for brain-altering gore. Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Dec. 2023 The elastic gore at the sides stretches to help you in the process and then secures your foot once in. Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 9 Jan. 2024
Verb
Monday's attack is the first such incident in 2023, but several visitors to the park were gored by bison last year. Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 17 July 2023 The other man was gored in the leg and listed in stable condition at a hospital, officials said. Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 26 Sep. 2023 Monday’s attack was the first since a Colorado Springs man was gored on June 27, 2022, near Giant Geyser. Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2023 The previous event happened near Giant Geyser at Old Faithful when a bull bison gored a 34-year-old man from Colorado Springs, Colorado, the NPS said in a press release the following day. Michael Lee Simpson, Peoplemag, 18 July 2023 The people turned to walk away from the bison, but one of the animals charged and gored the woman, the release reads. Park rangers are looking for 2 people accused of harassing a bison calf at Grand Teton National Park A helicopter took the woman to a hospital in Idaho. Raja Razek, CNN, 17 July 2023 In 2017, a 10-point buck with rabies gored a man’s face in Upstate New York. Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 5 Oct. 2023 In order to gore its preferred ox, the FTC is ignoring the realities of today’s retail world in asserting that Amazon is a monopolist. Jessica Melugin, National Review, 4 Oct. 2023 On Monday, a woman from Arizona was charged and gored by a bison at Yellowstone National Park. Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 21 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gore.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English gāra; akin to Old English gār spear, and perhaps to Greek chaion shepherd's staff

Verb (2)

Middle English, probably from gore spear, sword, from Old English gār spear

Noun (2)

Middle English, filth, from Old English gor

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1563, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of gore was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near gore

Cite this Entry

“Gore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gore. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

gore

1 of 4 noun
ˈgō(ə)r How to pronounce gore (audio)
ˈgȯ(ə)r
: a tapering or triangular piece of cloth (as in a skirt)

gore

2 of 4 verb
gored; goring
1
: to cut into a tapering triangular form
2
: to provide with a gore

gore

3 of 4 verb
gored; goring
: to pierce or wound with something pointed (as a tusk or horn)

gore

4 of 4 noun
: blood entry 1 sense 1a
especially : clotted blood
Etymology

Noun

Old English gāre "triangular piece of land"

Verb

Middle English goren "pierce, gore"

Noun

Old English gor "filth"

Biographical Definition

Gore

biographical name

Albert, Jr. 1948–     American politician and environmentalist; vice president of the U.S. (1993–2001)

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