trough — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A long, narrow container, open on top, for feeding or watering animals.

   Examples

   One of Harriet's chores was to slop the pigs' trough each morning and evening.

2. Any similarly shaped container.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Now, covered concrete troughs to house the cables are laid parallel with the railway lines, cheapening maintenance because of improved accessibility for inspection and repair.

   It just clips on the front of the stage without any special trough, has no great power and occupies only one dimmer, […]

3. Any similarly shaped container. A rectangular container used for washing or rinsing clothes.

   Usage

   • Australia
   • New-Zealand

   Examples

   Ernest threw his paint brushes into a kind of trough he had fashioned from sheet metal that he kept in the sink.

4. A short, narrow canal designed to hold water until it drains or evaporates.

   Examples

   There was a small trough that the sump pump emptied into; it was filled with mosquito larvae.

5. An undivided metal urinal (plumbing fixture)

   Usage

   • Colloquial

6. A gutter under the eaves of a building; an eaves trough.

   Usage

   • Canada

   Examples

   The troughs were filled with leaves and needed clearing.

7. A channel for conveying water or other farm liquids (such as milk) from place to place by gravity; any ‘U’ or ‘V’ cross-sectioned irrigation channel.

   Usage

   • Australia
   • New-Zealand

8. A long, narrow depression between waves or ridges; the low portion of a wave cycle.

   Examples

   The buoy bobbed between the crests and troughs of the waves moving across the bay.

   The neurologist pointed to a troubling trough in the pattern of his brain-waves.

9. A low turning point or a local minimum of a business cycle.

   Antonyms

   peak

10. A linear atmospheric depression associated with a weather front.

Verb

1. To eat in a vulgar style, as if from a trough.

   Related words

   cribditchtrench

   Examples

   He troughed his way through three meat pies.

Noun

1. a narrow depression (as in the earth or between ocean waves or in the ocean bed)

   Broader terms

   natural depressiondepression

2. a channel along the eaves or on the roof; collects and carries away rainwater

   Synonyms

   gutter

   Broader terms

   channel

3. a concave shape with an open top

   Synonyms

   bowl

   Broader terms

   concave shapeconcavityincurvationincurvature

4. a treasury for government funds

   Synonyms

   public treasurytill

   Broader terms

   treasuryexchequer

5. a long narrow shallow receptacle

   Broader terms

   receptacle

6. a container (usually in a barn or stable) from which cattle or horses feed

   Synonyms

   manger

   Broader terms

   container