trough

1
as in pipe
a long hollow cylinder for carrying a substance (as a liquid or gas) all of the wiring for the converted residential loft is concealed in a vertical trough

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2
as in ditch
a long narrow channel dug in the earth I slid and fell into the trough by the side of the road, scraping my leg

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3
as in gutter
a pipe or channel for carrying off water from a roof the troughs on the eaves of the house were clogged with leaves

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of trough The waves’ matter-dense crests sowed the seeds of future galaxies and galaxy clusters, while galaxy-sparse voids emerged from the matter-poor troughs. Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025 Still, an approaching trough will hit land by Friday with its destination in the Central Coast and along Santa Cruz County, according to Merchant. Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2025 The glint of the sun, gleaming light, on the tops, and shadow, darkness in the troughs. Casey Cep, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025 On average, bear markets have taken 13 months to go from peak to trough and 27 months to get back to break even since World War II. Stan Choe and Alex Veiga, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for trough
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trough
Noun
  • In January, hundreds of residents were evacuated from the Patrick Sullivan Senior Apartments on the Near West Side due to a burst pipe, which resulted in flooding and the loss of heat and hot water.
    Lizzie Kane, Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2025
  • If a thick layer of wet coffee grounds is placed around a plant, a water-resistant barrier is formed (ask a plumber what the grounds do to your plumbing pipes).
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 18 May 2025
Noun
  • If reaching a safe shelter is not possible, either crouch down in your car and shield your head, or leave your vehicle and find shelter in a ditch or ravine.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 17 May 2025
  • At least one species known as a ditch lily flourishes under wet conditions.
    Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 May 2025
Noun
  • Then, ten miles from where Evelyn lived, her wallet was found in a gutter in South San Francisco.
    Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
  • In comparison to Bean's teardrop lineup, the 1,400-lb (635-kg) Bean Pod trades in the fiberglass shell for an aluminum body with overhanging rain gutters delivering leakproof performance.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The fake banking app, distributed via Telegram, reflects a broader strategy where messaging platforms become unwitting conduits for malicious activities.
    Yaamini Barathi Mohan, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
  • In previous years, American spy agencies issued warnings that G42 could be a conduit for siphoning advanced American technology to China.
    Andrew R. Chow, Time, 14 May 2025
Noun
  • The force can carve a trench into the sand below you and create a rip current, a fast-moving channel of water that will haul your unsuspecting ass out to sea.
    Ryan Knighton, AFAR Media, 12 May 2025
  • Kent just came back inside after digging trenches along the side of our dirt road in the pouring rain.
    Chi Varnado, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2025
Noun
  • The team is taking this tack because Perseverance is getting low on unsealed tubes and still has a lot of intriguing ground to cover.
    Mike Wall, Space.com, 21 May 2025
  • The internet is already a part of us, inside of us; and maybe what remains for the digital novelist is to get outside, to gather up the whole snarled mess of tubes and plunk it down on an examination table.
    Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Noun
  • When camping in an open environment, select a campsite in a valley, ravine, or low region.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2025
  • That includes Tom Cruise, as covert CIA division agent Ethan Hunt, riding a motorcycle off a 4,000-foot cliff and BASE jumping the final 500 feet of a ravine, or the breathless climactic train mayhem in 2023’s Dead Reckoning, the opening installment of this two-parter.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2025
Noun
  • The deep-scarlet colored ski outfit is fully insulated and features an asymmetric zip closure and funnel neckline.
    Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 19 May 2025
  • The mines in the state’s Iron Range, where Mr. Bird was born and raised — and where his father, grandfather and great-grandfather worked in the pits before him — sit atop a domestic supply funnel.
    Tim Gruber, New York Times, 18 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Trough.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trough. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

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