troughs

Noun

trough (plural troughs)

1. A long, narrow container, open on top, for feeding or watering animals.
   • One of Harriet's chores was to slop the pigs' trough each morning and evening.
2. Any similarly shaped container.
   • Now, covered concrete troughs to house the cables are laid parallel with the railway lines, cheapening maintenance because of improved accessibility for inspection and repair.1961 November, “Talking of Trains: The North Eastern's new rail-mounted piling unit”, in Trains Illustrated, page 646
   1. (Australia, New Zealand) A rectangular container used for washing or rinsing clothes.
      • Ernest threw his paint brushes into a kind of trough he had fashioned from sheet metal that he kept in the sink.
3. A short, narrow canal designed to hold water until it drains or evaporates.
   • There was a small trough that the sump pump emptied into; it was filled with mosquito larvae.
4. (colloquial) An undivided metal urinal (plumbing fixture)
5. (Canada) A gutter under the eaves of a building; an eaves trough.
   • The troughs were filled with leaves and needed clearing.

See all 11 meanings of trough