trough

 
Pronunciation: /trɒf/

noun

  • 1a long, narrow open container for animals to eat or drink out of: a water trough
  • a container of a similar shape used for a purpose such as growing plants.
  • 2a channel used to convey a liquid.
  • a long hollow in the earth’s surface: a vast glacial trough
  • a hollow between two wave crests in the sea.
  • 3an elongated region of low barometric pressure.
  • 4a point of low activity or achievement: seasonal peaks and troughs in the demand for goods and services
  • Mathematics a region around the minimum on a curve of variation of a quantity.

verb

[no object] informal
  • eat greedily.

Origin:

Old English trog, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch trog and German Trog, also to tree