gouge

1 of 2

noun

ˈgau̇j

Synonyms of gouge next

: a chisel with a concavo-convex cross section

: the act of gouging

: a groove or cavity scooped out

: an excessive or improper charge for something : extortion

gouge

2 of 2

verb

gouged; gouging

transitive verb

: to scoop out with or as if with a gouge (see gouge entry 1 sense 1)

: to force out (an eye) with the thumb

: to thrust the thumb into the eye of

: to make (someone) pay too much for something : overcharge

gouger noun

Example Sentences

Noun The accident left a big gouge in the side of the car. Verb The lamp fell and gouged the table. A bomb had gouged a large crater in the street. They feel that they are being gouged by the oil companies.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Armed with a turning chisel called a bowl gouge and dressed in a green Big Bud Press jumpsuit, Jackson proceeds to mold the rough-hewn piece of black walnut similar to a potter forming a vessel on a potter’s wheel. —

Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2023 The earliest figures, naked and missing limbs, some suffering gouges or pocked with what look like the holes of beetle larvae, bring to mind eerie tales of automata or the leathery agonies of bog bodies. —

Peter Ross, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023 Create a scratchy texture by roughly scraping a gouge across pumpkin flesh. —

Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Oct. 2022 As a result of this opaque dynamic that exists nowhere else in the economy, hospitals have a blank check to price gouge. —

Cynthia A. Fisher, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2023 The 100-foot-wide gouge is a prominent reminder that cosmic fireworks don't only go up. —

Corey S Powell, Discover Magazine, 4 July 2014 One reason that its view is so magnificent is that there's a huge gap in the skyline--and a huge gouge in the ground--where the Twin Towers once stood. —

Carl Zimmer, Discover Magazine, 3 Feb. 2012 That all of these sellers are attempting to price gouge baby formula is somewhat at odds with the market’s attitude toward the necessary good. —

Molly Osberg, Curbed, 20 May 2022 Visitors to the museum will be able to inspect the gouge up close. —

Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Dec. 2022

Verb

The tradition of intaglios goes back to the Sumerian period in Mesopotamia, where figures were gouged by hand into softer stone. —

Franz Lidz, New York Times, 1 May 2023 Healthy monsoon rains had pushed tons of sand into the river, but had also gouged the beaches and sandbars that create natural backwaters and campsites for river trips. —

Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2023 The ship spun and fell against the rocks, which gouged and ripped apart the hull. —

David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Apr. 2023 An active monsoon last year moved tons of sand and sediment toward the river through tributaries like the Paria River, but runoff from the storms also gouged deeper cuts into the beaches downstream. —

Shaun Mckinnon, USA TODAY, 25 Apr. 2023 The legislation focuses on transparency, including requiring the industry to provide more information about maintenance and pricing decisions in order to allow state officials to better understand the market and deter companies from gouging consumers. —

Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2023 Someone tried to gouge his eyes and others piled on top of him before a fellow officer wrested him free. —

Peter Hermann, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Jan. 2021 The fallout from the Swift on-sale has put ticketing issues more squarely in the conversation in the industry as some artists are looking for more solutions to keep fans from getting gouged. —

Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2023 An anti-rent-gouging bill that is part of the Tenant Assistance and Protection Package, backed by a majority of the County Council, would limit annual rent increases to 8 percent plus inflation. —

Katie Shepherd, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2023 See More

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