gut
1. noun, informal A belly or paunch. Wow, do you see the gut on that guy? It's huge! I've been feeling really self-conscious about my gut lately, so I'm going to start going to the gym again. Did you see Amanda at the beach earlier? She has seriously toned abs these days—not that she had a gut before or anything.
2. noun, slang A basic, innermost response or intuition. A: "I'm just not sure which is the right thing to do." B: "Trust your gut." My gut was telling me that something was wrong with the situation. Once I started trusting my gut more, I began feeling more confident overall.
3. adjective, slang Very easy; not demanding or challenging at all. Said of academic courses. I padded out the semester with a few gut classes so I could take on some extra shifts at the restaurant. I thought Physics 101 would be a real challenge, but it turned out to be a bit of a gut course. Have fun in Calculus, suckers—I'm taking gut courses only this year!
4. adjective, slang Of or involving a basic, innermost response or intuition. While good résumés always help, I usually end up hiring people if I have a good gut feeling about them. Your gut decisions are more often than not the best ones. Jennifer's mother had a gut feeling that something was wrong when her daughter wasn't home by 10 o'clock.
guts
1. The stomach or intestines. If everything you eat makes you nauseous, there must be something going on with your guts. I'm getting a scan of my guts today, and I really hope it explains the stomach pains I've been having. Something is seriously wrong with her guts if she's been throwing up all day. Maybe it's food poisoning.
2. The innards of something. First, we need to clean the guts out of the pumpkin, then we can carve it. Hey, boys! Get away from that dead bird, and do not, under any circumstances, touch it, its guts, anything of the sort! Please tell me I don't have to take the guts out of this turkey. I already regret offering to host Thanksgiving!
3. The internal components of something, usually something mechanical. We'll have to take the computer apart if there's a problem with its guts. Grandpa's downstairs in his workshop, dismantling the guts of a broken clock. A: "Ever see a baseball without its cover?" B: "Whoa, that's its guts?
4. Courage, conviction, or resolve. Wow, you've got a lot of guts if mountain climbing is your hobby! I don't have the guts to ask my crush to the prom. You're always talking about quitting your job, but I don't think you have the guts to do it.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.