gut·ter / ˈgətər/ • n. a shallow trough fixed beneath the edge of a roof for carrying off rainwater. ∎  a channel at the side of a street for carrying off rainwater. ∎  (the gutter) used to refer to a poor or squalid background or environment: only moneyed privilege had kept him out of the gutter. ∎ technical a groove or channel for flowing liquid. ∎  the blank space between facing pages of a book or between adjacent columns of type or stamps in a sheet. ∎  a channel on either side of a lane in a bowling alley.• v. 1. [intr.] (of a candle or flame) flicker and burn unsteadily: the candles had almost guttered out.2. [tr.] archaic channel or furrow with something such as streams or tears: my cheeks are guttered with tears. ∎  [intr.] (gutter down) stream down: the raindrops gutter down her visage.

gutter †watercourse XIII; shallow trough to carry away water XIV. — AN. gotere, OF. gotiere (mod. gouttiére) :- Rom. *guttāria (cf. -ARY), f. L. gutta drop.
Hence gutter vb. channel XIV; stream XVI; (of a candle) melt rapidly by being channelled on one side XVIII. gutter-snipe common snipe, also called mire snipe; gatherer of refuse, street urchin. XIX. f. gutter in dial. sense of ‘mud, filth’.

gutter. Channel for taking water away, e.g. at the eaves of a roof. It may take several forms, e.g. be shaped like a cyma recta moulding, and is usually of metal.