# gout

/ˈɡaʊt/ (US) · /ɡˈaʊt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/gout
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. medical condition

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a painful type of arthritis that causes swelling in the joints, often starting in the big toe.

For teachers: a metabolic disease marked by uric acid deposits in the joints, causing recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis.

- His grandfather suffered from gout and had to avoid certain rich foods.
- The patient presented with classic symptoms of gout, including intense pain and erythema localized in the first metatarsophalangeal joint.

Usage: Usually treated as an uncountable noun.

### 2. a large drop

noun · CEFR C2 · Literary

a large drop or splash of a liquid, especially blood.

For teachers: a large drop, clot, or splash, typically of blood or another thick liquid.

- The knight's sword was covered in gouts of dark blood after the battle.
- The poet described the battlefield with visceral imagery, focusing on the gouts of gore that stained the trampled grass.

Usage: Often used in the plural form 'gouts of'.

### 3. to spurt

verb · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Literary

to flow or splash out in large drops.

For teachers: to spurt or splash out in large drops or quantities.

- Water began to gout from the cracked pipe in heavy pulses.
- As the pressure mounted, the dark oil began to gout from the fissure, coating the surrounding rocks in a thick film.

## Examples

- He changed his diet to help manage his gout.
- The patient experienced a sudden flare-up of gout in his right foot after a weekend of heavy meals.
- Historically associated with wealth and excess, gout is now understood as a metabolic disorder where the kidneys fail to efficiently excrete uric acid, leading to crystal formation in the joints.

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