trough

Noun

A long, narrow open receptacle for water, food, or other substances.
a narrow depression (as in the earth or between ocean waves or in the ocean bed)
a channel along the eaves or on the roof; collects and carries away rainwater
a concave shape with an open top
a treasury for government funds
a long narrow shallow receptacle
a container (usually in a barn or stable) from which cattle or horses feed
A long, narrow container, open on top, for feeding or watering animals.
Any similarly shaped container.
Any similarly shaped container.
A rectangular container used for washing or rinsing clothes.
A short, narrow canal designed to hold water until it drains or evaporates.
An undivided metal urinal (plumbing fixture)
A gutter under the eaves of a building; an eaves trough.
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.
A long, narrow depression between waves or ridges; the low portion of a wave cycle.
A low turning point or a local minimum of a business cycle.
A linear atmospheric depression associated with a weather front.

Verb

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

Examples

Ernest threw his paint brushes into a kind of trough he had fashioned from sheet metal that he kept in the sink.
He troughed his way through three meat pies.
One of Harriet's chores was to slop the pigs' trough each morning and evening.
The buoy bobbed between the crests and troughs of the waves moving across the bay.
The low-scoring section of the board felt like a TROUGH, full of wasted potential.
The neurologist pointed to a troubling trough in the pattern of his brain-waves.
The troughs were filled with leaves and needed clearing.
There was a small trough that the sump pump emptied into; it was filled with mosquito larvae.

Origin / Etymology

PIE word
*dóru
From Middle English trogh, from Old English troh, trog (“a trough, tub, basin, vessel for containing liquids or other materials”), from Proto-West Germanic *trog, from Proto-Germanic *trugą, *trugaz, from Proto-Indo-European *drukós, enlargement of *dóru (“tree”).
See also West Frisian trôch, Dutch trog, German Trog, Danish trug, Swedish tråg; also Middle Irish drochta (“wooden basin”), Old Armenian տարգալ (targal, “ladle, spoon”). More at tree.

Synonyms

bowl, gutter, manger, public treasury, till

Antonyms

peak

Scrabble Score: 10

trough: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
trough: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
trough: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

trough: valid Words With Friends Word