gut

Pluralguts

Formsguts, gutting, gutted

1. 1
   intestinesnouncountable or uncountable

   The body's alimentary canal, especially the intestines, where food is digested.

   Doctors examined her gut for signs of inflammation.

   A healthy gut absorbs nutrients efficiently.

   UsageCommon in gut health and gut bacteria; the plural guts means the insides in general.

   Similarintestines, bowels

   Note

   Old English used it mostly in the plural, guttas, for the entrails as a mass. Modern English keeps both habits: the gut as a single canal, and guts as the innards. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Gut descends from Old English gutt, usually used in the plural guttas for entrails. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   strip outverbtransitive

   To strip away or destroy the most essential parts of something.

   The renovation gutted the building down to its bare frame.

   Lawmakers fear the amendment will gut the bill's core protections.

   UsageCommon in the passive about fire: the house was gutted by fire.

   Similarstrip, eviscerate, devastate, ravage

   Note

   Fire guts a building the way a cook guts a fish: the inside is consumed while the shell stands, an image taken from removing the organs. The National Transportation Safety Board, in 1982, describes a fuselage "extensively burned and gutted." In politics it is the standard verb for weakening legislation. To say Congress gutted the bill means the bill survives in name while its substance is removed. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • The sense of destroying essential internal parts extends the sense of removing organs. en.wiktionary.org
   • The National Transportation Safety Board used “extensively burned and gutted” about a fuselage in a 1982 report. ntsb.gov
3. 3
   inner feelingnouncountable or uncountable

   A person's instinctive, emotional inner self, the seat of strong feelings.

   Her gut warned her not to sign the contract.

   Deep in his gut, he knew the answer was no.

   UsageCommon in trust your gut, my gut tells me and a feeling in my gut.

   Similarinstinct, intuition, heart

   Note

   Feelings are placed in the body here, and the gut becomes where a hunch is felt. Before another noun the same idea becomes the "instinctive" adjective, as in a gut reaction.

4. 4
   bellynouncolloquialcountable or uncountable

   A person's belly, especially a large or protruding one.

   He sucked in his gut before the photo.

   The doctor warned that his growing gut raised real health risks.

   UsageCommon in beer gut and suck in your gut; often teasing in tone.

   Similarbelly, paunch, stomach, potbelly

   Note

   The gut seen from outside rather than within: the bulge, not the canal.

5. 5
   adjective

   Driven by instinct and immediate feeling rather than conscious reasoning.

   The detective followed a gut feeling to the abandoned warehouse.

   Trading on a gut instinct, she sold all her shares.

   UsageComes before the noun: gut feeling, gut reaction, gut instinct.

   Similarinstinctive, intuitive, visceral

   Oppositerational, reasoned, considered

6. 6
   clean (animal)verbtransitive

   To remove the internal organs of an animal, especially before cooking.

   Hunters gut the deer in the field to cool the carcass quickly.

   She gutted the trout with a single practiced cut.

   Similarclean, disembowel, eviscerate, dress

7. 7
   crushverbtransitive

   To dishearten someone deeply, crushing their confidence and spirits.

   The rejection letter gutted her after months of hope.

   News like that can gut even the most resilient person.

   UsageMost often in the passive: I was gutted when we lost. Also it guts me that.

   Similardevastate, crush, shatter, dishearten, demoralize

   Oppositehearten, encourage, uplift

   Note

   Here it is a person who is emptied out, not a building or a fish. Two constructions carry it. The passive puts the person first: they were gutted by the court's decision. The pattern it guts me that… adds a that-clause naming the cause. Both describe a blow felt sharply and personally, closer to devastation than to mild disappointment.

8. 8
   of animal cordnoununcountable

   Cord made from the intestines of animals, used for the strings of musical instruments and sports rackets.

   Players once restrung their rackets with gut every few weeks.

   Gut produces a warmer tone than steel on a violin.

9. 9
   of animal cordadjective

   Made of gut, the strong cord prepared from animal intestines.

   The musician tuned each gut string with great care.

   Gut strings sound warmer but break more easily than nylon ones.

10. 10
    noun

    Bravery and firm resolve, particularly when facing a difficult or unpleasant task.

    Few politicians have the guts to vote against their own party.

    Quitting a stable job to start a business takes real guts.

    Similarcourage, nerve, bravery, backbone, grit

    Oppositecowardice

    Note

    Courage located in the belly, and always in the plural: someone has guts, never a gut, which would mean a large stomach. Two frames carry most uses: it takes guts to do something, and someone has (or lacks) the guts to do it. It is an informal, admiring word, plainer and blunter than courage, and suits speech better than formal writing.

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