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

All this deep slicing-and-dicing was a core feature of Ramaswamy’s campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, in which he promised to abolish the Department of Education and the FBI, gut the Food and Drug Administration, and narrow the Federal Reserve’s mandate.

From Slate

Equipped with a Republican-controlled Senate, a likely majority-Republican Congress, and a Supreme Court that has shown hostility toward environmental laws and regulations, the potential for a Trump administration to profoundly alter or gut existing polices is considerable.

From Los Angeles Times

"You know when you have this horrible gut feeling and a feeling of fear for children as well," she explains.

From BBC

Trump may gut environmental regulations, but even without them wind and solar are now the cheapest source of new energy in the world, period.

From Slate

Pfizer and Eli Lilly went down, because Republicans don’t like vaccines and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may now get the chance to gut both public health advances and pharmaceutical profits.

From Slate

Related Words

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