gun|shot /gʌ nʃɒt/ (gunshots )
1 N‑UNCOUNT [usu N n] Gunshot is used to refer to bullets that are fired from a gun. □ They had died of gunshot wounds. □ …avoiding the volleys of gunshot.
2 N‑COUNT A gunshot is the firing of a gun or the sound of a gun being fired. □ A balloon popped, sounding like a gunshot.
gu n-shy ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If someone is gun-shy , they are nervous or afraid. □ The electric-power industry is gun-shy about building more large plants.
gun|slinger /gʌ nsl I ŋə r / (gunslingers ) N‑COUNT A gunslinger is someone, especially a criminal, who uses guns in fighting.
gun|smith /gʌ nsm I θ/ (gunsmiths ) N‑COUNT A gunsmith is someone who makes and repairs guns.
gup|py /gʌ pi/ (guppies ) N‑COUNT A guppy is a small, brightly-coloured tropical fish.
gur|gle /gɜː r g ə l/ (gurgles , gurgling , gurgled )
1 VERB If water is gurgling , it is making the sound that it makes when it flows quickly and unevenly through a narrow space. □ [V adv/prep] …a narrow stone-edged channel along which water gurgles unseen. ● N‑COUNT Gurgle is also a noun. □ We could hear the swish and gurgle of water against the hull.
2 VERB If someone, especially a baby, is gurgling , they are making a sound in their throat similar to the gurgling of water. □ [V ] Henry gurgles happily in his baby chair. ● N‑COUNT Gurgle is also a noun. □ There was a gurgle of laughter on the other end of the line.
gur|ney /gɜː ni/ (gurneys ) N‑COUNT A gurney is a bed on wheels that is used in hospitals for moving sick or injured people. [AM ] in BRIT, use trolley
guru /guː ruː/ (gurus )
1 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A guru is a person who some people regard as an expert or leader. □ Fashion gurus dictate crazy ideas such as squeezing oversized bodies into tight trousers.
2 N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE A guru is a religious and spiritual leader and teacher, especially in Hinduism.
gush /gʌ ʃ/ (gushes , gushing , gushed )
1 VERB When liquid gushes out of something, or when something gushes a liquid, the liquid flows out very quickly and in large quantities. □ [V adv/prep] Piping-hot water gushed out. □ [V n] A supertanker continues to gush oil off the coast of Spain.
2 N‑SING A gush of liquid is a sudden, rapid flow of liquid, or a quantity of it that suddenly flows out. □ [+ of ] I heard a gush of water.
3 VERB If someone gushes , they express their admiration or pleasure in an exaggerated way. □ [V with quote] 'Oh, it was brilliant,' he gushes. □ [V prep] He gushed about his love for his wife. ● gush|ing ADJ □ He delivered a gushing speech.
gussy /gʌ si/ (gussies , gussying , gussied )
▸ gussy up PHRASAL VERB If someone is gussied up , they are dressed very smartly. If something is gussied up , it is made more interesting or attractive. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ] □ [V -ed P ] They all got gussied up. □ [V P n] …plans to gussy up the venues, offering better food and games arcades. [Also V pron P ]
gust /gʌ st/ (gusts , gusting , gusted )
1 N‑COUNT A gust is a short, strong, sudden rush of wind. □ [+ of ] A gust of wind drove down the valley. □ A hurricane-force gust blew off part of a church tower.
2 VERB When the wind gusts , it blows with short, strong, sudden rushes. □ [V ] The wind gusted again. □ [V prep/adv] The wind gusted up to 164 miles an hour.
3 N‑COUNT If you feel a gust of emotion, you feel the emotion suddenly and intensely. □ [+ of ] …a small gust of pleasure.
gus|to /gʌ stoʊ/ N‑UNCOUNT [usu with N ] If you do something with gusto , you do it with energetic and enthusiastic enjoyment. [APPROVAL ] □ Hers was a minor part, but she played it with gusto.
gusty /gʌ sti/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Gusty winds are very strong and irregular. □ Weather forecasts predict more hot weather, gusty winds and lightning strikes.
gut /gʌ t/ (guts , gutting , gutted )
1 N‑PLURAL A person's or animal's guts are all the organs inside them. □ By the time they finish, the crewmen are standing ankle-deep in fish guts.
2 VERB When someone guts a dead animal or fish, they prepare it for cooking by removing all the organs from inside it. □ [V n] It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.
3 N‑SING The gut is the tube inside the body of a person or animal through which food passes while it is being digested.
4 N‑UNCOUNT Guts is the will and courage to do something which is difficult or unpleasant, or which might have unpleasant results. [INFORMAL ] □ The new Chancellor has the guts to push through unpopular tax increases.
5 N‑SING [usu N n] A gut feeling is based on instinct or emotion rather than reason. □ Let's have your gut reaction to the facts as we know them.
6 N‑COUNT [usu sing] You can refer to someone's stomach as their gut , especially when it is very large and sticks out. [INFORMAL ] □ His gut sagged out over his belt.
7 → see also beer gut
8 VERB To gut a building means to destroy the inside of it so that only its outside walls remain. □ [V n] Over the weekend, a firebomb gutted a building where 60 people lived. □ [V -ed] A factory stands gutted and deserted.