gouge out
phrasal verb
gouged out; gouging out; gouges out
1
: to remove (something) by digging or cutting
The impact of the accident gouged a big piece out of the wall.
He threatened to gouge my eyes out.
2
: to make (a hole or path) by digging or cutting
The river gouged out a wide path between the mountains.
Examples of gouge out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Your path, an hour’s climb, will mainly be on a roughly 2,400-year-old road gouged out of the bedrock, winding its way through a seemingly endless series of sarcophagi.
—
Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025
From putting someone in the stocks to gouging out an old man’s eyes, one after the other?
—Nan Z. Da
june 10, Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
Even worse, another therapist is attacked in the same manner, only the new victim’s eyes are gouged out.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 15 May 2025
The other possibility, which is Jacobson's preferred explanation, is that Vesta itself was gouged out of a planet during a giant impact.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 6 May 2025
At the beginning he’s already gouged out the eyes of a classmate at his previous school, an episode that has prompted the Creel family to relocate to Hawkins, Indiana.
—Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2025
The show is also family-friendly, meaning families shouldn’t expect anyone to have their eyes gouged out.
—James Russell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2025
The second bullet had ripped a three-inch gouge out of a tree trunk, but had gone on to blast the bear on top of the shoulder.
—Tom Stacer, Outdoor Life, 20 Feb. 2025
Ancient sheep herders in East Africa gouged out burial pits and placed large rocks over the corpses.
—Maria Cramer, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025
From putting someone in the stocks to gouging out an old man’s eyes, one after the other?
—Nan Z. Da
june 10, Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
Even worse, another therapist is attacked in the same manner, only the new victim’s eyes are gouged out.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 15 May 2025
The other possibility, which is Jacobson's preferred explanation, is that Vesta itself was gouged out of a planet during a giant impact.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 6 May 2025
At the beginning he’s already gouged out the eyes of a classmate at his previous school, an episode that has prompted the Creel family to relocate to Hawkins, Indiana.
—Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2025
The show is also family-friendly, meaning families shouldn’t expect anyone to have their eyes gouged out.
—James Russell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2025
The second bullet had ripped a three-inch gouge out of a tree trunk, but had gone on to blast the bear on top of the shoulder.
—Tom Stacer, Outdoor Life, 20 Feb. 2025
Ancient sheep herders in East Africa gouged out burial pits and placed large rocks over the corpses.
—Maria Cramer, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gouge out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gouge%20out. Accessed 26 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share