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 /

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

   a gut reaction

GUT

²

/ ɡʌt /

acronym for

1. grand unified theory

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

I needed a gut check on my own grim musings, so I called Pedro Noguera, dean of the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California.

From Voice of San Diego

Even humans contain at least as many bacterial cells as “self” cells, the microbes in our gut inextricably linked with our development, physiology and survival.

From Quanta Magazine

As the heart, lungs, gut and other organs transmit information to the brain, they affect how we perceive and interact with our environment in surprisingly profound ways.

From Quanta Magazine

The gut diversity of people in the United States is almost half that of the most isolated Amerindians living in South America, she says.

From Science News

It takes guts to attempt running across the surface of a pool of liquid goop, even if it is oobleck.

From Science News For Students

Since coffee can irritate the gut, she suggests opting for herbal tea instead.

From The Daily Beast

Koenig has not been a sterile, objective narrator; she has openly voiced her biases, concerns, and gut feelings all along.

From The Daily Beast

Other methane is exhaled by microscopic organisms directly, as in the human gut.

From The Daily Beast

Now the gut was fueled not by Romanée-Conti and Château d'Yquem but by brandy--and a hell of a lot of it.

From The Daily Beast

And while all he says he has spoken to still believe the interrogations saved lives, he said the report was a punch in the gut.

From The Daily Beast

As we turned the crest of the hill and began the descent into the wooded gut, my companion looked back and waved his hand.

From Project Gutenberg

Never strike a fish hard with the fly, either on gut or hair, if the latter, a breakage is almost sure to follow a violent jerk.

From Project Gutenberg

What are termed water knots are the best for tying your gut or hair together, the tighter they are drawn the faster they become.

From Project Gutenberg

Take a length of fine round silk worm gut, half a yard of silk well waxed, (wax if possible of the same colour,) take a No.

From Project Gutenberg

It was with a shriek of agony that he had leaped across the gut, and he had reached home thereafter in a fever-fit of fear.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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