What does gutted mean?
Gutted is an informal word used most often to describe someone who is deeply upset, devastated, or overwhelmed by bad news, disappointment, or loss. In British usage, expressions such as “absolutely gutted” are especially common after a painful personal or sporting disappointment. The word can also mean completely ruined or destroyed, as when a fire guts a building, and it may describe a person who is exhausted or drained. The literal past tense and past participle of the verb gut refer to removing the entrails or internal contents of an animal or object. Its figurative power comes from the idea of something essential having been emptied out or left in ruins. Although forceful and sometimes hyperbolic, gutted communicates emotional intensity efficiently and is normally better suited to speech and informal writing than to formal prose.
Deeply upset or devastated by bad news or disappointment; also, more broadly, completely ruined or exhausted.
"She was gutted when her application was rejected."
The emotional use is informal and chiefly British, while the exhausted use is particularly associated with American informal English.
The past tense and past participle of gut: to remove the entrails or internal contents from something, or to destroy its interior or essential contents.
"The chefs gutted the fish before preparing the fillets."
The literal verb is formal or technical, whereas its figurative uses are generally informal.
The word travels from the literal image of something emptied out to the vivid shorthand for a person left emotionally devastated.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gutted come from?
Gutted is the past tense and past participle of gut, and its figurative uses developed from the verb's meanings of removing internal contents or leaving something empty and ruined. Gut itself is an Old English word, although its ultimate origin is uncertain. The modern emotional sense extends the older destructive metaphor to describe a person who feels emptied out by grief, shock, or disappointment.
Related word forms
How gutted is actually used
The emotional sense is informal and is especially associated with British English, while the sense meaning exhausted is more common in American informal usage. The destructive sense may be serious or technical depending on context.
Easily confused with gutted
Gutted can mean devastated or emptied of something essential, whereas guttered usually means to flow or burn in a gutter or to become weak and unsteady.