gut

¹

[ guht ]

noun

1. the alimentary canal, especially between the pylorus and the anus, or some portion of it. Compare foregut, midgut, hindgut.
2. guts,
   1. bowels or entrails.
   2. Informal. courage and fortitude; nerve; determination; stamina:

      Climbing that cliff takes a lot of guts.

   3. the inner working parts of a machine or device:

      The mechanic had the guts of the refrigerator laid out on the kitchen floor.

3. the belly; stomach; abdomen.
4. the substance forming the case of the intestine; intestinal tissue or fiber:

   sheep's gut.

5. a preparation of the intestines of an animal, used for various purposes, as for violin strings, tennis rackets, or fishing lines.
6. the silken substance taken from a silkworm killed when about to spin its cocoon, used in making snells for fishhooks.
7. a narrow passage, as a channel of water or a defile between hills.
8. Slang. Also gut course. snap course.

verb (used with object)

, gut·ted, gut·ting.

1. to take out the guts or entrails of; disembowel.
2. to destroy the interior of:

   Fire gutted the building.

3. to plunder (a house, city, etc.) of contents:

   Invaders gutted the village.

4. to remove the vital or essential parts from:

   The prisoner's letters were gutted by heavy censorship.

adjective

1. Informal.
   1. basic or essential:

      to discuss the gut issues.

   2. based on instincts or emotions:

      a gut reaction; gut decisions.

GUT

²

Physics.

1. grand unification theory.

GUT

¹

/ ɡʌt /

acronym for

1. grand unified theory

gut

²

/ ɡʌt /

noun

1. 1. the lower part of the alimentary canal; intestine
   2. the entire alimentary canal visceral
2. often plural the bowels or entrails, esp of an animal
3. slang.
   the belly; paunch
4. See catgut
5. a silky fibrous substance extracted from silkworms, used in the manufacture of fishing tackle
6. a narrow channel or passage
7. informal.
   plural courage, willpower, or daring; forcefulness
8. informal.
   plural the essential part

   the guts of a problem

9. bust a gut informal.
   to make an intense effort
10. have someone's guts for garters informal.
    to be extremely angry with someone
11. hate a person's guts informal.
    to dislike a person very strongly
12. sweat one's guts out or work one's guts out informal.
    to work very hard

verb

1. to remove the entrails from (fish, etc)
2. (esp of fire) to destroy the inside of (a building)
3. to plunder; despoil

   the raiders gutted the city

4. to take out the central points of (an article), esp in summary form

adjective

1. informal.
   arising from or characterized by what is basic, essential, or natural

   a gut reaction

   a gut problem

GUT

¹

1. Abbreviation of grand unified theory See unified field theory

gut

²

/ gŭt /

1. The intestine of a vertebrate animal.
2. The alimentary canal of an invertebrate animal.
3. The tube in a vertebrate embryo that later develops into the alimentary canal, lungs, and liver.

Derived Forms

• ˈgutˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• gut·like adjective
• un·gut·ted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gut¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English gut, guttes (plural), Old English guttas (plural), akin to gēotan “to pour”

Word History and Origins

Origin of gut¹

Old English gutt; related to gēotan to flow; see fusion

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. spill one's guts, Slang. to tell all; lay oneself bare; confess everything:

   The celebrity chef spills his guts in his autobiography.

More idioms and phrases containing gut

In addition to the idiom beginning with gut , also see bust a gut ; hate someone's guts ; have the guts .

Example Sentences

Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have engineered a probiotic that delivers immunotherapy directly to the gut to shrink tumors in mice, offering a potentially promising oral drug for hard-to-reach cancers.

From Science Daily

The probiotic cancer treatment, described Nov. 20 in the journal Cell Chemical Biology, establishes a customizable drug delivery system that can be modified to potentially treat other gut diseases.

From Science Daily

Oral immunotherapy drugs could directly target hard-to-reach gastrointestinal cancers, but such protein-based treatments degrade in the gut's harsh environment before reaching the tumors.

From Science Daily

Co-first author Olivia Rebeck, who conducted the experiments when she was a graduate student in the Dantas lab with postdoctoral scholars Miranda Wallace, PhD, and Jerome Prusa, PhD, used a yeast strain to deliver immunotherapy to the gut.

From Science Daily

Delivering therapies that directly target the bug or its toxins could potentially replace the need for antibiotics that also harm beneficial gut microbes.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• decimate
• empty
• eviscerate
• loot
• ransack
• ravage