trough

noun

ˈtrȯf How to pronounce trough (audio)
Definition of troughnext
1
as in pipe
a long hollow cylinder for carrying a substance (as a liquid or gas) all of the wiring for the converted residential loft is concealed in a vertical trough

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in ditch
a long narrow channel dug in the earth I slid and fell into the trough by the side of the road, scraping my leg

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in gutter
a pipe or channel for carrying off water from a roof the troughs on the eaves of the house were clogged with leaves

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of trough Approximate peak-to-trough decline in Amazon’s share price after the dot-com bubble burst. — Bydoug Ashburn, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Sep. 2026 This smear is described mathematically by a wave function which, like a classical wave, has peaks and troughs. — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026 Trotter’s team had prepped the property with water troughs and alfalfa hay, which drew in the animals. — Ingfei Chen, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026 At the same time, another upper-level trough will move into the West, helping pull monsoon moisture northward into the Southern High Plains next week. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for trough
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trough
  1. pipe
  2. ditch
  3. gutter
  4. conduit
  5. trench
  6. tube
  7. ravine
  8. funnel
Noun
  • NuCube previously partnered with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to examine how heat pipes endure stress at temperatures surpassing 900°C (1,652°F).
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The bit caught a pipe strap and wrenched him off a ladder, tearing off his thumb and mangling his hand.
    — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of pipe
Noun
  • Those risks can include operating heavy mowing equipment and having to navigate roadside ditches.
    — Susan DeGrane, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Access holders say the fence has created significant problems, including trapping wildlife and diverting water from community irrigation ditches.
    — Anna Alejo, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of ditch
Noun
  • Infrastructure funding would be used to maintain pavement, curbs, gutters, alleys, bridges and culverts throughout the city.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 2026
  • There are no people in her piece, simply 45 silver images of Bowery storefronts and gutters, typically littered with empty bottles.
    — J. Hoberman, ARTnews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of gutter
Noun
  • The organization is helping provide fliers the family can use to canvas the area and will serve as a conduit with law enforcement while determining what other assistance the family needs.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • That included the East-West Pipeline, the main conduit Saudi Arabia has used to circumvent Iranian and American closures of the Strait of Hormuz.
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of conduit
Noun
  • The clothes performed a parallel operation on familiar forms, pulling apart bikers, trenches, tweed jackets, corsetry, and punk hardware before rebuilding them into funky new forms of feminine armor.
    — Vogue, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Direct water toward the bed by installing a gutter extension, creating a downhill slope, digging a trench or connecting a PVC pipe to a distant gutter and running it underground to the rain garden.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of trench
Noun
  • Think about squeezing just the very end of a full tube of toothpaste, Jimenez said.
    — Erica Sloan, Washington Post, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Briscoe, for instance, has found that in neural-tube patterning there are two ways of reaching the same place in the landscape — a finding that reconciled previously contradictory observations.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of tube
Noun
  • The standout among the entertaining spaces is the baby-blue kitchen, which extends from the rear of the home into a rounded turret overlooking a ravine.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Directed by Mohammed Ali Naqvi, the Sundance 2026 doc tells the story of the high-stakes rescue of six schoolboys and two adults trapped in a cable car 900 feet above a ravine in the remote Himalayan foothills of northern Pakistan.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of ravine
Noun
  • Exclusive to the new vessel is the two-story Believe Tower Suite, which sleeps eight inside the forward funnel and draws inspiration from the Magic Kingdom.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Oct. 2026
  • As the pace of SpaceX launches accelerate, manufacturing these parts becomes a high-volume revenue funnel for Applied Aerospace.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of funnel

Phrases Containing trough

Browse Nearby Words

troublous
trough
troughs
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Cite this Entry

“Trough.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trough. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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