trough

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A long, narrow, generally shallow receptacle for holding water or feed for animals.
• noun Any of various similar containers for domestic or industrial use, such as kneading or washing.
• noun A gutter under the edge of a roof for carrying off rainwater.
• noun A long, narrow depression, as between waves or ridges.
• noun A low point in a business cycle or on a statistical graph.
• noun Meteorology An elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure, often associated with a front.
• noun Physics A minimum point in a wave or an alternating signal.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To feed grossly, as a hog from a trough.
• To make into a trough, or into the shape of a trough.
• noun In mining, an oblong tank of boards or metal in which ores are washed for the separation of metal and gangue; a rocker, serving as a hand-buddle.
• noun In coalmining, a passage cut through a supporting pillar of coal to connect one opened chamber with another. Also called thirling.
• noun In geology, the lowest portion of a synclinal fold.
• noun An open receptacle, generally long and narrow, as for water.
• noun A large vessel, usually oblong, designed to hold water or food for animals.
• noun A conduit for rain-water, placed under the eaves of a building; an eaves-trough.
• noun In printing:
• noun A watertight box in which paper is dipped to dampen it for the press.
• noun The iron or metal-lined box in which inking-rollers are cleaned and forms are washed.
• noun In fish-culture, a hatching-trough.
• noun A small boat; a canoe or dug-out.
• noun A concavity or hollow; a depression between two ridges or between two waves; an oblong basin-shaped hollow: as, the trough of the sea.
• noun The array of connected cells of a voltaic battery, in which the copper and zinc plates of each pair are on opposite sides of the partition.
• noun In chem., a vat or pan containing water over which gas is distilled.
• noun In electroplating, a tray or vat which holds the metallic solution.
• noun A similar device for holding the developing or fixing bath in dry-plate photography, in order that the changes in the plate submerged in the bath can be observed.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun A long, hollow vessel, generally for holding water or other liquid, especially one formed by excavating a log longitudinally on one side; a long tray; also, a wooden channel for conveying water, as to a mill wheel.
• noun Any channel, receptacle, or depression, of a long and narrow shape.
• noun (Meteor.) The transverse section of a cyclonic area where the barometric pressure, neither rising nor falling, has reached its lowest point.
• noun (Arch.) a rectangular or V-shaped gutter, usually hung below the eaves of a house.
• noun the depression between two waves.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A long, narrow container, open on top, for feeding or watering animals.
• noun Any similarly shaped container.
• noun A short, narrow canal designed to hold water until it drains or evaporates.
• noun Canada A gutter under the eaves of a building; an eaves trough.
• noun agriculture, Australia, New Zealand A channel for conveying water or other farm liquids (such as milk) from place to place by gravity; any ‘U’ or ‘V’ cross-sectioned irrigation channel.
• noun A long, narrow depression between waves or ridges; the low portion of a wave cycle.
• noun meteorology A linear atmospheric depression associated with a weather front.
• verb To eat in a vulgar style, as if eating from a trough

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a long narrow shallow receptacle
• noun a container (usually in a barn or stable) from which cattle or horses feed
• noun a treasury for government funds
• noun a concave shape with an open top
• noun a narrow depression (as in the earth or between ocean waves or in the ocean bed)
• noun a channel along the eaves or on the roof; collects and carries away rainwater