Meanings
-
1
noun
a long, narrow, open container used for food, water, mixing, or holding materials
The horses drank from a stone trough beside the stable.
-
2
noun
a long, narrow depression or low region, such as between waves, in the ground, or in atmospheric pressure
The small boat vanished briefly into the trough of a wave.
-
3
noun
the lowest point in a recurring cycle, especially an economic one
Employment began to recover after reaching a trough in March.
-
4
noun
a channel that carries water, especially along a roof edge
Rainwater flowed through the roof trough into the downpipe.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Middle English trogh, from Old English troh or trog ("wooden vessel, basin"), ultimately Germanic. The container's long, hollow shape gave rise to the geographical, oceanographic, meteorological, and economic senses of an elongated or cyclical low point.