gutted

What it means

1. 1.

   Bitterly disappointed. Used for losses that genuinely hurt — a job you didn't get, a match your team lost — and, ironically, for very small ones.

In use

• He was gutted when they didn't pick him for the squad.

• They'd sold the last one. Gutted.

  Note: Standing alone as a one-word reaction — very common, and usually lightly ironic.

Where it comes from

From gutting a fish: everything inside removed. The word is a fixture of post-match football interviews, which is largely how it spread from regional use to national.

Other forms

Similar terms:

devastated