• synonyms


See more synonyms for gut on Thesaurus.com
  1. the alimentary canal, especially between the pylorus and the anus, or some portion of it.Compare foregut, midgut, hindgut.
  2. guts,
    1. the bowels or entrails.
    2. Informal.courage and fortitude; nerve; determination; stamina: Climbing that cliff takes a lot of guts.
    3. the inner working parts of a machine or device: The mechanic had the guts of the refrigerator laid out on the kitchen floor.
  3. the belly; stomach; abdomen.
  4. the substance forming the case of the intestine; intestinal tissue or fiber: sheep's gut.
  5. a preparation of the intestines of an animal, used for various purposes, as for violin strings, tennis rackets, or fishing lines.
  6. the silken substance taken from a silkworm killed when about to spin its cocoon, used in making snells for fishhooks.
  7. a narrow passage, as a channel of water or a defile between hills.
  8. Slang. a gut course.
Show More
verb (used with object), gut·ted, gut·ting.
  1. to take out the guts or entrails of; disembowel.
  2. to destroy the interior of: Fire gutted the building.
  3. to plunder (a house, city, etc.) of contents: Invaders gutted the village.
  4. to remove the vital or essential parts from: The prisoner's letters were gutted by heavy censorship.
Show More
  1. Informal.
    1. basic or essential: to discuss the gut issues.
    2. based on instincts or emotions: a gut reaction; gut decisions.
Show More
  1. spill one's guts, Slang. to tell all; lay oneself bare: the famous star spills his guts in his autobiography.
Show More

Origin of gut

before 1000; Middle English gut, guttes (plural), Old English guttas (plural), akin to gēotan to pour
Related formsgut·like, adjectiveun·gut·ted, adjective


See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
2b. pluck.

Related Words


Examples from the Web for gutting

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for gutting


n acronym for
  1. grand unified theory
Show More


    1. the lower part of the alimentary canal; intestine
    2. the entire alimentary canalRelated adjective: visceral
  1. (often plural) the bowels or entrails, esp of an animal
  2. slang the belly; paunch
  3. See catgut
  4. a silky fibrous substance extracted from silkworms, used in the manufacture of fishing tackle
  5. a narrow channel or passage
  6. (plural) informal courage, willpower, or daring; forcefulness
  7. (plural) informal the essential partthe guts of a problem
  8. bust a gut informal to make an intense effort
  9. have someone's guts for garters informal to be extremely angry with someone
  10. hate a person's guts informal to dislike a person very strongly
  11. sweat one's guts out or work one's guts out informal to work very hard
Show More
verb guts, gutting or gutted (tr)
  1. to remove the entrails from (fish, etc)
  2. (esp of fire) to destroy the inside of (a building)
  3. to plunder; despoilthe raiders gutted the city
  4. to take out the central points of (an article), esp in summary form
Show More
  1. informal arising from or characterized by what is basic, essential, or naturala gut problem; a gut reaction
Show More
Derived Formsgutlike, adjective

Word Origin

Old English gutt; related to gēotan to flow; see fusion

Word Origin and History for gutting



Old English guttas (plural) "bowels, entrails," related to geotan "to pour," from PIE *gheu- "pour" (see found (v.2)). Related to Middle Dutch gote, Dutch goot, German Gosse "gutter, drain," Middle English gote "channel, stream." Meaning "abdomen, belly" is from c.1400. Meaning "easy college course" is student slang from 1916, probably from obsolete slang sense of "feast" (the connecting notion is "something that one can eat up"). Sense of "inside contents of anything" (usually plural) is from 1570s. To hate (someone's) guts is first attested 1918. The notion of the intestines as a seat of emotions is ancient (cf. bowel) and probably explains expressions such as gut reaction (1963), gut feeling (by 1970), and cf. guts. Gut check attested by 1976.

Show More



"to remove the guts of" (fish, etc.), late 14c., from gut (n.); figurative use by 1680s. Related: Gutted; gutting.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

gutting in Medicine


  1. The alimentary canal or a portion thereof, especially the intestine or stomach.
  2. The embryonic digestive tube, consisting of the foregut, the midgut, and the hindgut.
  3. guts The bowels; entrails; viscera.
  4. A thin, tough cord made from the intestines of animals, usually sheep, used as suture material in surgery.
Show More

gutting in Science


  1. The intestine of a vertebrate animal.
  2. The alimentary canal of an invertebrate animal.
  3. The tube in a vertebrate embryo that later develops into the alimentary canal, lungs, and liver.
Show More


  1. Abbreviation of grand unified theory See unified field theory.
Show More

Idioms and Phrases with gutting


In addition to the idiom beginning with gut

  • gut it out

also see:

  • bust a gut
  • hate someone's guts
  • have the guts
Show More