What does "gutted" mean in British English?

Deeply, genuinely disappointed. Not mildly let down, properly devastated by something. It's one of the strongest everyday words for disappointment in British English.

"I'm gutted" = "I'm really gutted about this" = something happened that seriously disappointed me.

The key thing to understand is the level of feeling. If you say you are gutted, you are not just saying "that's a shame". You are saying it genuinely hurt. Brits often use it for things that mattered a lot to them: a football result, a missed opportunity, a cancelled plan they had really looked forward to.

"Gutted" literally means having the insides removed (as in cleaning a fish). The metaphor is visceral, the feeling of disappointment is like having something taken out of you. It emerged in British slang in the late 20th century and is now completely standard.

That image is worth holding onto as a memory trick. Picture the hollow, emptied-out feeling of a bad piece of news landing in your stomach. That is exactly the emotion "gutted" is built to describe.

• "I'm absolutely gutted we lost."
• "She was gutted when she didn't get the job."
• "Gutted for you, I know how much you wanted that."
• "We were gutted the holiday got cancelled."
• "He looked absolutely gutted after the results came in."

Notice the last two examples. You can be gutted yourself, or you can be gutted "for" someone else, which shows sympathy for their disappointment rather than your own.

You can intensify it, "absolutely gutted" or "properly gutted", but "gutted" alone is already strong. Because it is already at the top end of the disappointment scale, avoid using it for small setbacks. Saying you are gutted that your coffee went cold will sound like a joke or sarcasm, which is actually one way Brits do use it, but be aware that is not the literal meaning.

Learners sometimes assume "gutted" means angry, because it sounds intense. It does not. Gutted is about sadness and disappointment, not fury. If you are angry, you would say "furious" or "fuming". Mixing these up can confuse a native listener, so keep gutted firmly in the disappointment category.

• "Devastated", formal version
• "Heartbroken", specifically about personal or emotional loss
• "Crushed", similar intensity
• "Really disappointed", neutral, works everywhere

A related expression worth knowing is "sick as a parrot", another British football phrase for deep disappointment, though it now sounds a little old-fashioned and jokey. "Choked" is another informal option you might hear, meaning too upset to speak.

Informal British English. An American would understand it but probably wouldn't say it. Americans tend to reach for "bummed" or "crushed" instead. Not suitable for formal writing.

In a casual setting with friends, "gutted" is completely natural and used constantly. In a workplace it depends on the tone of the office. Among colleagues you get on with, "I was gutted we lost that contract" is fine and sounds human. In a formal email, a report, or a message to a senior client, switch to "very disappointed" or "extremely sorry to hear that". Save the emotional punch of gutted for spoken and relaxed situations.

This word is a strong marker of British English. If you use it naturally, British speakers will notice and often warm to it. Americans may pause, work it out from context, and understand you perfectly well, but the word will sound distinctly British to their ear. That is not a problem, it is simply useful to know where the word belongs.