gutter

[ guht-er ]

noun

1. a channel at the side or in the middle of a road or street, for leading off surface water.
2. a channel at the eaves or on the roof of a building, for carrying off rainwater.
3. any channel, trough, or the like for carrying off fluid.
4. a furrow or channel made by running water.
5. Bowling. a sunken channel extending along each side of a bowling lane, to catch balls that stray over the edge.
6. the state or abode of those who live in degradation, squalor, etc.:

   the language of the gutter.

7. the white space formed by the inner margins of two facing pages in a bound book, magazine, or newspaper.

verb (used without object)

1. to flow in streams.
2. (of a candle) to lose molten wax accumulated in a hollow space around the wick.
3. (of a lamp or candle flame) to burn low or to be blown so as to be nearly extinguished.
4. to form gutters, as water does.

verb (used with object)

1. to make gutters in; channel.
2. to furnish with a gutter or gutters:

   to gutter a new house.

gutter

/ ˈɡʌtə /

noun

1. a channel along the eaves or on the roof of a building, used to collect and carry away rainwater
2. a channel running along the kerb or the centre of a road to collect and carry away rainwater
3. a trench running beside a canal lined with clay puddle
4. either of the two channels running parallel to a tenpin bowling lane
5. printing
   1. the space between two pages in a forme
   2. the white space between the facing pages of an open book
   3. the space between two columns of type
6. the space left between stamps on a sheet in order to separate them
7. surfing a dangerous deep channel formed by currents and waves
8. (in gold-mining) the channel of a former watercourse that is now a vein of gold
9. the gutter
   a poverty-stricken, degraded, or criminal environment

verb

1. tr to make gutters in
2. intr to flow in a stream or rivulet
3. intr (of a candle) to melt away by the wax forming channels and running down in drops
4. intr (of a flame) to flicker and be about to go out

Derived Forms

• ˈgutter-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• gutter·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gutter¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English gutter, goter, from Old French go(u)tiere, equivalent to goutte “drop” + -iere, feminine of -ier; gout, -er ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of gutter¹

C13: from Anglo-French goutiere, from Old French goute a drop, from Latin gutta

Idioms and Phrases

see in the gutter .

Example Sentences

"The soil is compacted, there's asphalt over them and when it rains, the water runs off into the gutters instead of into the soil."

From Science Daily

“Extensive deterioration and damage to hotel facilities was noted on periodic evaluations conducted in 2023, in addition to Service condition assessments, including damage to railings, walkways, staircases, roofs, gutters and other physical assets.”

From Los Angeles Times

The bar on offensive public rhetoric is lowered into the gutter.

From Salon

“No flood drainage was done, no curbs and gutters.”

From Los Angeles Times

Vector control agencies try to eliminate public breeding sites in gutters, underground storm drains, flood control channels and debris basins.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• culvert
• dike
• duct
• eaves
• pipe
• sewer
• tube