The word "trough" was used more than once in your speech. This is a noun. It refers to the middle family. Let us see what specific interpretation the noun "trough" is endowed with. It can have two shades of meaning, direct and figurative. It all depends on the specific context.
Meaning of the word
In the dictionary of Ephraim you can find the true meaning of this word.
- An elongated vessel designed for washing and other household needs. Made of wood or galvanized iron. Initially, the troughs were done this way: they took a large log chopped in half, and then hollowed it out to form a vessel. A trough was used to wash the laundry. In the troughs also bathed. And you can grow plants in them.
- Old boat or wrecked ship. It is worth noting that this is a figurative meaning; it has a touch of neglect. It indicates a negative characteristic, for example, of a car. It can also be called junk or a tin can.
Examples of use
Now we can move on to examples of use. As you know, in practice, knowledge is acquired many times better.
- This trough is split, it is impossible to wash in it.
- Yes, this is not a car, but the real trough.
- After two buckets of warm water were poured into the galvanized trough, we added a little washing powder and started washing the laundry.
- A child was swimming in the trough.
- What do you want from this old trough? It has been standing in the port for two years and does not move.
- We put an iron trough on the stove so that it warms up a bit.
- In the trough we kept apples.
Trough in the literature
You probably met the word trough in literature. How can one not recall Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin and his "Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish"? Remember what the old woman ordered to beg from the fish in the first place? That's right, a brand new trough.
And then her appetite was completely taken off. But initially she needed it, since the old one had completely split.
Since then, the phraseologism “stay with nothing” has taken root in the Russian language. That is, to remain with nothing, to lose everything that was.
Please note that this phraseology is acceptable for colloquial or artistic style. You cannot use it in texts of a scientific subject or in official documentation. Otherwise, you just make a stylistic mistake.
When can a person stay with nothing? For example, he spends all his income on entertainment, beautiful clothes and going to restaurants. And then he is kicked out of work, and he is forced to abandon his former luxurious lifestyle. He didn’t make any savings on a rainy day, so he stayed with nothing.
Now you know the meaning of the word "trough". You know how to apply it in sentences.