gouge

[gouj]

noun

1. a chisel having a partly cylindrical blade with the bevel on either the concave or the convex side.

2. an act of gouging.

3. a groove or hole made by gouging.

4. 1. an act or instance of extorting or overcharging; a swindle.

   2. the amount of money extorted or overcharged.

      a gouge of $20 for shipping and delivery.

5. Geology.

   1. a layer of decomposed rocks or minerals found along the walls of a vein.

   2. fragments of rock that have accumulated between or along the walls of a fault.

verb (used with object)

gouged, gouging 

1. to scoop out or turn with or as if with a gouge.

   to gouge a channel; to gouge holes.

2. to dig or force out with or as if with a gouge.

   to gouge out an eye.

3. to make a gouge in.

   to gouge one's leg.

4. to extort from, overcharge, or swindle.

   drug companies that gouge consumers and the government.

verb (used without object)

gouged, gouging 

1. to engage in extortion, overcharging, or swindling.

   I bought a lot of my clothes there before they began gouging.

gouge

/ ɡaʊdʒ /

verb

1. (usually foll by out) to scoop or force (something) out of its position, esp with the fingers or a pointed instrument

2. (sometimes foll by out) to cut (a hole or groove) in (something) with a sharp instrument or tool

3. informal,  to extort from

4. (also intr) to dig for (opal)

noun

1. a type of chisel with a blade that has a concavo-convex section

2. a mark or groove made with, or as if with, a gouge

3. geology a fine deposit of rock fragments, esp clay, occurring between the walls of a fault or mineral vein

4. informal,  extortion; swindling

Other Word Forms

• gouger noun
• ungouged adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gouge¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from French, from Late Latin gu(l)bia; compare Old Provençal goja, Spanish gubia; perhaps from Celtic; compare Old Irish gulba “sting,” Welsh gylf “beak,” Cornish gilb “borer”

Word History and Origins

Origin of gouge¹

C15: from French, from Late Latin gulbia a chisel, of Celtic origin

Example Sentences

At the state level, progressives like Wisconsin governor Robert La Follette battled the railroad monopolies that gouged farmers desperate to get their crops to market.

From Salon

In the 1970s, Black Sabbath prioritized gouging grooves, thrumming basslines and ponderous drums; they treated their albums like cohesive sonic statements.

From Salon

In January, Airbnb released a statement denouncing price gouging and promising to make it impossible for hosts to raise the prices of their properties by more than 10% from their pre-wildfire rates.

From Los Angeles Times

The union’s founder, John Schwarz, explained in an Instagram post that the union is demanding “fair taxes, an end to price gouging, real equality, and corporate accountability.”

From Salon

Eyewitnesses said Israeli drones fired at members of a Hamas police force, dressed in civilian clothing and wearing masks, who were confronting vendors they accused of price gouging and selling goods looted from aid trucks.

From BBC