What does gouge mean?
Gouge has two broad sets of meanings joined by the image of making a deep cut with a tool. As a verb, it can describe scooping, boring, or cutting out a groove, often with force: a machine may gouge a trench, or a tool may gouge a line in wood or stone. Figuratively, it means to cheat or charge excessively, as when a business is said to gouge its customers. As a noun, a gouge is an implement for scooping or boring material, while also referring to the groove or hollow produced by such an action. The word is useful because it combines a precise physical meaning with a vivid figurative sense of unfairly taking too much. Although the verb can describe deliberate excavation, it often suggests force, penetration, or damage, making it more forceful than words such as cut or scoop alone.
To cut, scoop, or excavate a deep groove or hole in a surface; figuratively, to cheat or overcharge someone.
"The climber's crampons gouged deep into the snow."
The figurative use, meaning to cheat or overcharge, is strongly critical and common in both British and American English.
A tool for boring or scooping out material, or a groove, channel, or hollow made by such an action.
"The sculptor tested the edge of the gouge against the block of marble."
In specialist contexts, gouge can refer specifically to a curved carving or boring tool; in general use, it may also mean the mark such a tool creates.
The standard plural of the noun is gouges; the same spelling is also the third-person singular of the verb.
"The workshop displayed several gouges of different widths."
A gouge can cut a hole in stone—or, figuratively, in your wallet.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gouge come from?
The word entered Middle English from Old French gouge, a term associated with a tool for boring or scooping. Old French gouge is generally traced to Medieval Latin gaudia, although the word's deeper prehistory is uncertain. The related form gudgeon originally developed as a diminutive within this medieval Latin and French word family.
Related word forms
How gouge is actually used
The physical sense is neutral to mildly forceful, while the financial sense is strongly negative and denotes excessive or unfair charging. In British and American English, the figurative sense is especially common in discussions of prices, fees, and taxation.
Easily confused with gouge
A gouge is a forceful cut, scoop, or act of overcharging, whereas a dodge is an attempt to avoid or evade something.