Grough

//ɡɹʌf// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A natural channel or gully in a peat moor, sometimes very steep and deep, and through which water sometimes flows. (Compare hag.)

    "[…] leaving you "pathless" in the middle of the moor. […] you step into the nearest grough […] after a hundred yards or so, the grough that you have so wisely chosen, now has sides of eleven feet high and according to your compass, has wandered off course and is now definitely not taking you in your intended direction."

Example

More examples

"[…] leaving you "pathless" in the middle of the moor. […] you step into the nearest grough […] after a hundred yards or so, the grough that you have so wisely chosen, now has sides of eleven feet high and according to your compass, has wandered off course and is now definitely not taking you in your intended direction."

Etymology

Possibly the same word as gruff (“rough”, adjective), describing the terrain. Compare clough.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.