especially: any of various hard-rinded inedible fruits of plants of two genera (Lagenaria and Cucurbita) often used for ornament or for vessels and utensils
Walking through the various barrios, you might see people sharing sips from a little gourd with a straw in it. Bruce Sanderson
… a basketball-size gourd draped with a veil of wooden beads—to incite individual bursts of improvisation from the orchestra's players. The New Yorker
Phrases
out of one's gourd
US, informal
1
or less commonly off one's gourd: out of one's mind : crazy
… comes off like a cross between two Hogans, the Aussie actor Paul and the American wrestler Hulk—completely out of his gourd, but essentially likable.People Weekly
… these people are loud, abusive, occasionally maniacal, often colossally boorish and notoriously primed under certain circumstances to go totally off their gourds. Curry Kirkpatrick
2
—used as an intensive
was frightened out of her gourd[=extremely frightened]It's eleven against two, and the two are probably stoned out of their gourds. Stephen KingPerhaps it is not too late for American kids to be given the gift of enforced boredom for at least a week or two, staring into space, bored out of their gourds, exploring the inside of their own heads. Anna Quindlen
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebFinally, the Tehuana costume is completed with a xhigagueta or jicalpestle, a container originally made from a gourd—Hernández carries one. Fernanda Pérez Sánchez, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2022 Like going to the pumpkin farm and grabbing a gourd to carve with the kids. Adam Schubak, Country Living, 18 Aug. 2022 The Sun honored league’s all-time rebounding leader with a special pregame presentation, gifting her slippers, a custom robe, pajamas and a charity donation, along with a special gourd filled with symbolic artifacts from the Mohegan Tribe. Lila Bromberg, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2022 This Halloween, use a gourd to chill your favorite vino. Charlyne Mattox, Country Living, 15 July 2022 Colin, who found the potato with his wife on their farm near Hamilton, New Zealand, told the AP that tests determined Doug was a tuber of a gourd. Greta Bjornson, PEOPLE.com, 17 Mar. 2022 Bortz lobbed the gourd to Lavender who swung and smashed the pumpkin into bits and chunks. Kristen Griffith, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 5 Nov. 2021 Brisk air filled the cockpit as Levy opened the door and dropped the gourd. Emily Mesner, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Oct. 2021 The weight is too much when the bear attempts to pick up the gourd, and the pumpkin bowls the bear over. Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 12 Oct. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English gourde, from Anglo-French gurde, gourde, from Latin cucurbita