gouge
Pronunciation: (gouj), [key]
— n., v., gouged, goug•ing.
—n.
- a chisel having a partly cylindrical blade with the bevel on either the concave or the convex side.
- an act of gouging.
- a groove or hole made by gouging.
- an act of extortion; swindle.
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- a layer of decomposed rocks or minerals found along the walls of a vein.
- fragments of rock that have accumulated between or along the walls of a fault.
—v.t.
- to scoop out or turn with or as if with a gouge: to gouge a channel; to gouge holes.
- to dig or force out with or as if with a gouge: to gouge out an eye.
- to make a gouge in: to gouge one's leg.
- to extort from, swindle, or overcharge.
—v.i.
- to engage in swindling, overcharging, or the like: I bought my clothes there before they began gouging.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.