trough

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A long open container from which farm animals drink or eat.

   Grammar: Countable: a water trough.

   Patterns

   • a trough of something

   The horses lined up at the water trough.

   He filled the trough with feed.

   Pigs crowded around the trough.

2. 2nouncountable

   The lowest point in a cycle, wave, or line of figures, before it rises again.

   Grammar: Often paired with peak: peaks and troughs.

   Patterns

   • a trough in something
   • peaks and troughs

   Sales hit a trough in January.

   Boats rose and fell between the peaks and troughs of waves.

   The company is recovering from a trough.

3. 3nouncountable

   A long narrow dip or low channel in the ground or sea.

   Grammar: Describes landforms: an ocean trough.

   Patterns

   • a trough between something

   Water collected in a trough between the hills.

   A deep trough runs along the sea floor.

   Rain filled the trough in the field.

Word forms

Common combinations

water trough

The cows drank from the water trough.

feeding trough

A feeding trough stood by the barn.

peaks and troughs

Business has had peaks and troughs.

economic trough

The economy reached its trough last spring.

hit a trough

Sales hit a trough in winter.

Synonyms and how they differ

low point

Low point is plainer and fits any bad moment, not only a measured cycle.

bottom

Bottom is less technical and does not suggest a rise follows.

manger

Manger is a feeding box for animals, narrower than trough, which may hold water.

dip

A dip is a smaller, briefer decline than a trough.

Opposites

Word family

trough verb

to eat greedily, in informal British use

Commonly confused: trough or trot?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “trough”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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