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gouge
Gor·don·stoun /'gɔːdnztn||'gɔːr-/ a PUBLIC SCHOOL
(=expensive private school) in the north of Scotland, which
is famous because several members of the British royal
family, including Prince CHARLES, have been educated there.
It is thought of as a school that emphasizes sport and other
outdoor activities but in which the pupils live in a SPARTAN
(=with few COMFORTS) way.
gore¹ /gɔːr/ v [T] (of an animal) to wound with the horns or
TUSKS: The bullfighter was badly gored.
gore² n [U] lit blood, especially blood that has flowed from a
wound and thickened. This word is often used when speak-
ing of films which show a lot of people being killed etc: too
much blood and gore ➔ see also GORY
gore³ n a piece of material which widens towards the bottom
and is used in making a garment, usually a skirt —gored adj:
a gored skirt
Gore, Al /æl/ (1948–) a US politician in the Democratic Party.
He was the Vice President of the US from 1993 to 2001. He
is known for his interest in the environment, and for losing
the election for US President in 2000 even though he had
won more votes than George W. Bush.
gorge¹ /gɔːdʒ||gɔːrdʒ/ n 1 a deep narrow valley with steep
sides usually made by a stream which runs or has run
through it ➔ see VALLEY (USAGE) 2 make someone's gorge
rise to make someone feel sickened or feel strong dislike:
When I saw the torturers' victims it made my gorge rise.
gorge² v gorge oneself on/with usually derog to fill oneself
completely with (food); eat in a GREEDY way: He gorged
himself on cream cakes.
gor·geous /'gɔːdʒəs||'gɔːr-/ adj infml 1 wonderful; delight-
ful: What a gorgeous day it is today. (=warm and sunny) | This
cake is gorgeous. 2 very beautiful: Our show features fifty
gorgeous dancing girls. —ly adv —ness n [U]
gor·gon /'gɔːgən||'gɔːr-/ n 1 infml an ugly angry-looking
woman whose appearance causes fear 2 (usually cap.) any of
three imaginary sisters in ancient Greek stories who had
snakes on their heads instead of hair, and turned anyone
who looked at them to stone
Gor·gon·zo·la /ˌgɔːgənˈzələˌgɔːr-/ n [U] a type of Italian
cheese which is white with blue marks, and which has a
strong taste and smell
go·ril·la /gəˈrɪlə/ n 1 a very large African monkey that is the
largest of the manlike monkeys (APES) ➔ see picture at
APE 2 slang an ugly or rough man: The gang boss had
brought his gorillas with him in case there was any trouble.
Gor·ky, Maxim /'gɔːkɪ||'gɔːr-/ (1868–1936) a Russian writer of
NOVELS remembered especially for his book about his own life
gor·mand·ize also -ise BrE /'gɔːməndaɪz||'gɔːr-/ v [I] fml to
eat a lot for pleasure rather than from hunger ➔ see also
GOURMAND
Gor·men·ghast /'gɔːməŋgɑːst||'gɔːrməŋɡæst/ (1950) a
novel by Mervyn PEAKE, full of strange characters and events.
It is also the name of the castle that belongs to the Earl of
Groan in two other books by Peake, TITUS GROAN and Titus
Alone
gorm·less /'gɔːmləs||'gɔːrm-/ adj BrE infml stupid and
thoughtless; slow in understanding: a gormless-looking
young man —ly adv
gorse /gɔːs||gɔːrs/ also furze n [U] a prickly bush with
bright yellow flowers, which grows wild in country areas
gor·y /'gɔːri/ adj 1 infml full of extreme violence and unpleas-
antness: a gory film | The newspaper account of the accident
gave all the gory details. 2 lit covered in blood ➔ see GORE²
gosh /gɒʃ||gɑːʃ/ interj infml an expression of surprise
gos·ling /'gɒzlɪŋ||'gɑːz-, 'gɔːz-/ n a young GOOSE
go·'slow BrE || slowdown AmE — n a period of working as
slowly and with as little effort as possible, as a form of STRIKE
➔ compare WORK-TO-RULE; see also go slow (GO¹)
gos·pel /'gɒspəl||'gɑːs-/ n [U] 1 also ,gospel 'truth some-
thing that is completely true: What I'm telling you is gospel/
the gospel truth. 2 also 'gospel ,music a style of popular
music usually performed by African Americans in which
religious songs are sung strongly and loudly: a gospel singer
Gospel one of the four books in the New Testament of the
Bible which describe the life of Jesus. The Gospels were
written by St Matthew, St Mark, St Luke, and St John, who
are often called 'the Evangelists'. ➔ compare EPISTLE
gos·sa·mer /'gɒsəmɛə||'gɑːs-/ n [U] 1 light silky thread
which SPIDERS leave on grass and bushes and between
trees 2 a very light thin material
gos·sip¹ /'gɒsɪp||'gɑːs-/ n 1 [C;U] (a) conversation or report
about the details of other people's behaviour and private
lives, often including information that is not actually true:
All this talk about his love affairs is just idle gossip. | I haven't
had a good gossip since you left. | Many newspapers have a
gossip column where the private lives of famous people are
reported. ➔ compare RUMOUR 2 [C] a person who likes
talking about other people's private lives
gossip² v [I] to spend time in gossip: She was gossiping with
her friend about the boss's love life.
gos·sip·y /'gɒsɪpi||'gɑːs-/ adj infml full of gossip or liking
gossip: I got a long gossipy letter from my sister. | a gossipy
person
got /gɒt||gɑːt/ past tense & participle of GET ➔ see GOTTEN (USAGE),
HAVE² (USAGE)
got·cha! /'gɒtʃə||'gɑː-/ interj I've got you! (said to surprise or
frighten someone, or to show that one has gained a sudden
advantage)
CULTURAL NOTE During the Falklands War The SUN
newspaper used Gotcha! in its HEADLINE when the British
sank an Argentine ship. Many people found this insensitive
and offensive.
Goth /gɒθ||gɑːθ/ n 1 the Goths [P] a tribe of people from
central Europe, in what is now Germany, who attacked and
moved into the ROMAN EMPIRE several times between the 3rd
and 5th centuries AD 2 [C] a member of this tribe 3 [C] a
person following a fashion of the late 1980s and early 1990s
for pale skin and black or purple clothes
Goth·am /'gɒθəm||'gɑː-/ also ,Gotham 'City 1 the city
where the character BATMAN lives in the stories about
him 2 AmE an informal name for NEW YORK CITY
Goth·ic /'gɒθɪk||'gɑː-/ adj 1 the Gothic style of building was
common in Western Europe between the 12th and 16th
centuries. Its main features were pointed ARCHES¹ tall PIL-
LARS, and tall thin pointed windows. 2 a Gothic story, film
etc is about frightening things that happen in mysterious
old buildings, and lonely places, and was popular in the
early 19th century 3 Gothic writing, printing etc has thick
decorated letters
got·ta /'gɒtə||'gɑːtə/ nonstandard 1 have/has got to 2 have/
has got a
have got to and have got a are often pronounced
like this in ordinary speech, but gotta is used in writing
only to suggest a very informal or nonstandard
pronunciation: I gotta go. (=I must go.) | Gotta match?
(=Have you got a match?)
got·ten /'gɒtn||'gɑːtn/ AmE past participle of GET ➔ see also
ILL-GOTTEN
In American English gotten is more common than
got as the past participle of get except where it means a
'possess', compare: I've got a new car (=I possess one)
and I've gotten a new car (=I've bought one) or b 'must',
compare: I've got to go (=I must go) and I've gotten to
go. (=I've succeeded in going.)
got·tle o' geer /ˌgɒtl ə ˈgɪər-||ˌgɑːt-/ interj BrE infml humor a
phrase used by someone pretending to be a bad VENTRILO-
QUIST who is actually trying to say 'bottle of beer'
gou·ache /gu'ɑːʃ, gwɑːʃ/ n [C;U] (a picture produced by) a
method of painting using colours that are mixed with water
and thickened with a sort of GUM
Gou·da /'gaʊdə, 'gʊdə/ n [U] a yellow Dutch cheese that
does not have a very strong taste
gouge¹ /gaʊdʒ/ n a tool for cutting out hollow areas in wood
gouge² v
gouge sthg. ⇔ out phr v [T] to press or dig out with force:
They tortured him and then gouged his eyes out.