- 1[countable] a long narrow open container for animals to eat or drink from Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivedrinking, feeding, watering, …
- 2the trough [singular] (informal) if you say that people have their noses in the trough, you mean that they are trying to get a lot of money for themselves
- 3[countable] (specialist) a long narrow region of low air pressure between two regions of higher pressure compare ridge Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivedeep, shallow verb + troughreach phrasesthe peaks and troughs
- 4[countable] a period of time when the level of something is low, especially a time when a business or the economy is not growing There have been peaks and troughs in the long-term trend of unemployment. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivedeep, shallow verb + troughreach phrasesthe peaks and troughs
- 5[countable] a low area between two waves in the sea, or two hills Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivedeep, shallow verb + troughreach phrasesthe peaks and troughs Word OriginOld English trog, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch trog and German Trog, also to tree.Extra examples The economy is unlikely to reach its trough until the turn of the year. The stock market fell by 48% from peak to trough. the peaks and troughs of economic cycles
trough
nounBrE BrE//trɒf//; NAmE NAmE//trɔːf//
Trends, On the farm, Animal farmingCheck pronunciation: trough
