gouge
/ˈɡaʊ̯d͡ʒ/noun, verb
gouge is spelled G-O-U-G-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,154th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, gouge means “A chisel with a curved blade for cutting or scooping channels, grooves, or holes in wood, stone, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gouge is gouges.
How many letters and syllables are in gouge?
| Letters | 5: G-O-U-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 41,154th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is gouge?
Gouge appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,154th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gouge?
- US /ˈɡaʊ̯d͡ʒ/
- US [ˈɡaʊ̯d͡ʒ]
- /ˈɡæʊ̯d͡ʒ/
Gouge has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-gouge.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of gouge
- gouges plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- gouging participle, present
- gouged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gouge mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A chisel with a curved blade for cutting or scooping channels, grooves, or holes in wood, stone, etc.
- 2
A bookbinder's tool with a curved face, used for blind tooling or gilding.
- 3
An incising tool that cuts blanks or forms for envelopes, gloves, etc., from leather, paper, or other materials.
- 4
A cut or groove, as left by a gouge or something sharp.
The nail left a deep gouge in the tire.
- 5
colloquialAn act of gouging.
- 6
slangA cheat, a fraud; an imposition.
- 7
slangAn impostor.
- 8
Soft material lying between the wall of a vein and the solid vein of ore.
verb
- 1
To make a groove, hole, or mark in by scooping with or as if with a gouge.
Japanese and Chinese printers used to gouge characters in wood.
- 2
To cheat or impose upon; in particular, to charge an unfairly or unreasonably high price.
The company has no competition, so it tends to gouge its customers.
- 3
To dig or scoop (something) out with or as if with a gouge; in particular, to use a thumb to push or try to push the eye (of a person) out of its socket.
- 4
To use a gouge.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gouge in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gouge , gougeure, rainure , gouger, graver , éborgner |
| German | Grabstichel, Hohlbeitel, Hohlmeißel, Stichel , Furche, Rille |
| Portuguese | goiva , ranhura |
| Spanish | gubia , ranura, surco , harina |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gouge come from?
From Middle English gouge (“chisel with concave blade; gouge”), from Old French gouge, goi (“gouge”), from Late Latin goia, gubia, gulbia (“chisel; piercer”), borrowed from Gaulish *gulbiā, from Proto-Celtic *gulbā, *gulbi, *gulbīnos (“beak, bill”). The English word is cognate with Italian gorbia, gubbia (“ferrule”), Old Breton golb, Old Irish gulba (“beak”), Portuguese goiva, Scottish Gaelic gilb (“chisel”), Spanish gubia (“chisel, gouge”), Welsh gylf (“beak; pointed instrument”), gylyf (“sickle”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).