gore

Meanings

1. 1noununcountableliterary

   Blood that has been spilled, especially when thick and sticky after an injury or act of violence.

   Grammar: Uncountable and often used with blood: blood and gore.

   Patterns

   • blood and gore
   • covered in gore

   The battlefield was covered in blood and gore.

   He turned his head away from the gore on the television screen.

   The novel describes the gore of war in unflinching detail.

2. 2noununcountable

   Violence and bloodshed shown in a film, book or game, especially in horror stories.

   Grammar: Uncountable; usually refers to graphic content: a lot of gore.

   Patterns

   • a film full of gore
   • plenty of gore

   Horror fans enjoy the movie because of its gore.

   The game was rated for mature players because of its gore.

   I prefer a ghost story to something with a lot of gore.

3. 3verbtransitive

   To pierce or wound a person or animal with a horn or tusk.

   Grammar: Takes an object, often passive: the farmer was gored by a bull.

   Patterns

   • be gored by an animal
   • gore someone

   The farmer was gored by a bull and taken to hospital.

   A rhino can gore an attacker with its horn.

   The matador was gored in the thigh.

4. 4nouncountabletechnical

   A triangular piece of cloth sewn into a garment, sail or umbrella to give it shape.

   Grammar: Countable and used in sewing: a gore in a skirt.

   Patterns

   • a gore in a skirt
   • a gore of fabric

   The tailor added a gore to the skirt so it would flow.

   A balloon is made of long curved gores sewn together.

   One gore of the umbrella was torn.

Word forms

Common combinations

blood and gore

The film is packed with blood and gore.

covered in gore

The knight returned covered in gore.

graphic gore

The show was criticized for its graphic gore.

gore-filled

He avoids gore-filled horror films.

gored by a bull

The rider was gored by a bull in the arena.

Synonyms and how they differ

bloodshed

Bloodshed refers to violent killing in general, whereas gore stresses the sight of the blood itself.

carnage

Carnage means large-scale killing and destruction, which is broader than the physical blood of gore.

blood

Blood is the plain word, while gore sounds more graphic and dramatic.

violence

Violence is the general word for harmful force and does not refer to the blood or its depiction.

Word family

gory adjective

involving a lot of blood and violence

gorily adverb

in a bloody or violent way

goriness noun

the quality of being gory

gored adjective

pierced by a horn or tusk

Commonly confused: gore or gorge?

Practice

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