gutter

/'gʌtə/

Thân thiện

A child drops a leaf into the gutter to watch it float away.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A channel for carrying away rainwater: A trough or channel fixed under the edge of a roof, or at the side of a street, to carry off rainwater.
   • A state of extreme poverty or degradation: A metaphor for a low, squalid, or morally degraded condition in life or society.

2. Verb:

   • To flow in small streams: To flow or form channels, like water.
   • To burn unsteadily and weakly: Said of a flame or candle that is about to go out, often melting wax unevenly.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The heavy rain overflowed the gutter.
  • After losing his job, he felt his life was in the gutter.

• Verb:

  • Tears guttered down her cheeks.
  • The candle began to gutter in the draft, casting flickering shadows.

Advanced Usage

• "To be in the gutter": To be in a state of ruin, poverty, or moral degradation.

  • His reputation was in the gutter after the scandal.

• "Gutter press": A collective term for newspapers that focus on sensationalism and scandal rather than serious news.

  • The celebrity's divorce was splashed across the gutter press.

Variants and Related Words

• Guttering (n): The system of gutters on a building.

  • We need to replace the old guttering.

• Guttersnipe (n): A child who spends most of their time on the streets, especially in a poor area (archaic/derogatory).

  • The novel's hero starts life as a guttersnipe.

Synonyms

• Noun (channel): Trough, drain, ditch, conduit.
• Noun (degraded state): Depths, sewers, dregs.
• Verb (flow): Stream, trickle, run.
• Verb (burn): Flicker, sputter, waver.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Gutter" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its verbal uses are typically intransitive.)

Related Idioms

• "Gutter language": Vulgar, coarse, or obscene speech.

  • He was shocked by the gutter language used in the argument.

• "From the gutter to the stars": A phrase describing a dramatic rise from poverty or obscurity to fame and success.

  • Her life story was a remarkable journey from the gutter to the stars.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a tool for gutting fish
2. a worker who guts things (fish or buildings or cars etc.)
3. misfortune resulting in lost effort or money
   • his career was in the gutter
   • all that work went down the sewer
   • pensions are in the toilet
4. a channel along the eaves or on the roof; collects and carries away rainwater

Verb

1. provide with gutters
   • gutter the buildings
2. wear or cut gutters into
   • The heavy rain guttered the soil
3. flow in small streams
   • Tears guttered down her face
4. burn unsteadily, feebly, or low; flicker
   • The cooling lava continued to gutter toward lower ground

Từ đồng nghĩa

• sewer
• toilet
• trough