trough

[ trawf, trof or, sometimes, trawth, troth ]
See synonyms for: troughtroughstroughlike on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a long, narrow, open receptacle, usually boxlike in shape, used chiefly to hold water or food for animals.

  2. any of several similarly shaped receptacles used for various commercial or household purposes.

  1. a channel or conduit for conveying water, as a gutter under the eaves of a building for carrying away rainwater.

  2. any long depression or hollow, as between two ridges or waves.

  3. Oceanography. a long, wide, and deep depression in the ocean floor having gently sloping sides, wider and shallower than a trench.: Compare trench (def. 4).

  4. Meteorology. an elongated area of relatively low pressure.

  5. the lowest point, especially in an economic cycle.

Origin of trough

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English trōh; cognate with Dutch, German, Old Norse trog

Other words from trough

  • troughlike, adjective

Words Nearby trough

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use trough in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for trough

trough

/ (trɒf) /


noun
  1. a narrow open container, esp one in which food or water for animals is put

  2. a narrow channel, gutter, or gulley

  1. a narrow depression either in the land surface, ocean bed, or between two successive waves

  2. meteorol an elongated area of low pressure, esp an extension of a depression: Compare ridge (def. 6)

  3. a single or temporary low point; depression

  4. physics the portion of a wave, such as a light wave, in which the amplitude lies below its average value

  5. economics the lowest point or most depressed stage of the trade cycle

verb
  1. (intr) informal to eat, consume, or take greedily

Origin of trough

1
Old English trōh; related to Old Saxon, Old Norse trog trough, Dutch trügge ladle

Derived forms of trough

  • troughlike, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for trough

trough

[ trôf ]


  1. The part of a wave with the least magnitude; the lowest part of a wave. Compare crest. See more at wave.

  2. A narrow, elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure occurring at the ground surface or in the upper atmosphere, and often associated with a front. Compare ridge.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.