noun
gouge
GOWJ
noun
1
A chisel with a curved blade, used to cut grooves or hollows into wood or stone.
"He used a gouge to carve the bowl of the wooden spoon."
2
A groove or hole left behind, as if cut by such a tool.
"There was a deep gouge in the table where the moving crew had dropped a box."
verb
1
To dig, scoop, or cut a groove or hole into something.
"The forklift gouged a chunk out of the warehouse wall."
2
To overcharge someone, especially by taking unfair advantage of a situation.
"Some hotels gouge tourists during festival weekends."
How to Use Gouge
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA curved chisel or the groove it makes, or (as a verb) to scoop out a hole, or to badly overcharge someone.
Common pairings
price gouging
gouge a hole
gouge someone's eyes out
Word Forms
gouged past tense, gouges plural, Gouges plural, gouges singular
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Etymology
From Old French gouge, a word for a chisel with a curved blade, traced back to a Gaulish word for "beak" or "point".