What does gutty mean?
Gutty is an informal adjective meaning courageous, brave, and determined, especially when someone faces difficulty or risk. It is closely related in force to gutsy but tends to sound more clipped and emphatic. In another established informal sense, gutty means excellent, impressive, or notably bold, as in praise for a performance or decision. The word is used in both British and American English and is more conversational than formal; its strong positive tone makes it especially common in sports, entertainment, and accounts of difficult challenges. Although gutty is less common than brave or gutsy, it compresses moral courage into a vivid label. Knowing its slightly slangy register helps distinguish it from plucky, a more literary alternative, and from the second sense meaning simply very good. Its concise history also makes it a useful example of how English readily turns a bodily metaphor into a character description.
adjectiveCourageous or determined; plucky. In informal use, it can also mean excellent, impressive, or notably bold.
- Courageous, brave, or determined, especially in the face of difficulty or risk.
- Excellent, impressive, or notably bold, in informal and often complimentary use.
"It was a gutty decision to attempt the climb in such poor weather."
"The young goalkeeper showed real gutty determination after his team fell behind."
"That was a gutty performance, and the judges clearly thought so too."
Gutty grew from the word “gut,” turning an organ associated with courage and nerve into a punchy description of someone who has plenty of both.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of gutty
Gutty is a 19th-century English formation from gut, in the sense of courage or nerve, together with the suffix -y. The earlier word guts likewise expresses courage and physical resolve, while gutty developed as a clipped, emphatic way to describe someone possessing that quality. It is unrelated to gusty, despite a superficial resemblance between the words.
Related word forms
How gutty is actually used
Gutty is informal and strongly positive in both its principal meanings. It is especially common in British and American conversational English when praising courage or an impressive achievement; plucky is a more literary alternative.
Easily confused with gutty
A gutter is a channel or boundary that carries water, whereas gutty describes someone or something as brave, determined, or impressively bold.