gorge

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
: a narrow passage through land
especially : a narrow steep-walled canyon or part of a canyon
2
: throat
often used with rise to indicate revulsion accompanied by a sensation of constriction
My gorge rises at the sight of blood.
3
a
: a hawk's crop
b
4
: the entrance into an outwork (such as a bastion) of a fort
5
: a primitive device used instead of a fishhook that consists of an object (such as a piece of bone attached in the middle of a line) easy to swallow but difficult to eject
6
: a mass choking a passage
a river dammed by an ice gorge
7
: the line on the front of a coat or jacket formed by the crease of the lapel and collar

gorge

2 of 3

verb

gorged; gorging

intransitive verb

: to eat greedily or to repletion
also : to partake of something in large amounts
gorging on books

transitive verb

1
a
: to stuff to capacity : glut
b
: to fill completely or to the point of distension
veins gorged with blood
2
: to consume greedily
gorger noun

gorge

3 of 3

noun (2)

: the act or an instance of gorging
Choose the Right Synonym for gorge

satiate, sate, surfeit, cloy, pall, glut, gorge mean to fill to repletion.

satiate and sate may sometimes imply only complete satisfaction but more often suggest repletion that has destroyed interest or desire.

years of globe-trotting had satiated their interest in travel
readers were sated with sensationalistic stories

surfeit implies a nauseating repletion.

surfeited themselves with junk food

cloy stresses the disgust or boredom resulting from such surfeiting.

sentimental pictures that cloy after a while

pall emphasizes the loss of ability to stimulate interest or appetite.

a life of leisure eventually begins to pall

glut implies excess in feeding or supplying.

a market glutted with diet books

gorge suggests glutting to the point of bursting or choking.

gorged themselves with chocolate

Examples of gorge in a Sentence

Verb We gorged on chips and cookies. We gorged ourselves on chips and cookies.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
For a different perspective, visitors can drive to the bottom of the gorge, along Fayette Station Road. Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2024 Explore natural gorges, waterfalls, forests with tall trees, and breathtaking views of nature. Miriam Porter, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Manske: The King Walkway, constructed along the steep walls of a narrow gorge in the province of Málaga, is part of a path that is almost five miles in length. Laura Manske, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 One of those obstacles was a sprawling river gorge less than halfway into the young mountain lion’s voyage, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 14 Feb. 2024 The Cedar Gorge property is 131 acres of largely undisturbed waterfront property on the south end of Port Washington, including a steep gorge dotted with old cedar trees and pristine clay bluffs dropping down to a thin strip of shoreline. Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2024 For example, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital city, borders the Tian Shan mountains and is a gateway to Ala-Archa National Park, known for its stunning, rocky gorge and towering Ak-Sai waterfall. Laura Kiniry, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024 While Redford and Newman landed on a ledge with a mattress a few feet below, Gilbert and fellow stunt performer Howard Curtis had actually taken off from a construction crane at the Paramount Ranch outside Los Angeles in front of a matte painting of a gorge. Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Feb. 2024 Another rare salamander — the Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander that inhabits a river gorge in North Carolina — is another species the Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing for federal protections as of Jan. 24. Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 25 Jan. 2024
Verb
Astronomers think the explosion was triggered by a white dwarf — the core of a star that has run out of fuel — gorging on material from a neighboring star. Katrina Miller, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2023 They'd been invited to cook at a series of exclusive dinners at JW Marriotts in New Delhi and Mumbai, but the trip would also provide a chance to gorge on flavors familiar and not, in the hopes of discovering dishes to reproduce artfully in New York. Alex Bhattacharji, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Dec. 2023 Palestinian Israelis come, too, to amble through the souks of the Old City, buy traditional products like olive oil soap and gorge their way through the city’s embarrassment of rich desserts. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023 Also gorging on the scenery is Keegan-Michael Key as the Chief of Police, on the take from the cartel and accepting payment in chocolate, which causes his girth to keep expanding in a tiresome running fat joke. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Dec. 2023 The movie’s most meaningful recurring image is not of Napoleon commanding his troops, but rather of Napoleon gorging himself on food and drink, often at diplomatic meetings with foreign frenemies like Alexander I (Édouard Philipponnat) or Francis I (Miles Jupp). Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023 That led financial speculators to gorge on low-grade mortgages, delivering the global financial crisis of 2008, said Brad Setser, a former U.S. Treasury Department official and now an economist at the Council on Foreign Relations. Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2023 And House of Usher gorges itself at this terrifying table. Phillip MacIak, The New Republic, 11 Oct. 2023 And Emma Stone gorges on it in a fearless, career-defining lead performance. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gorge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1), Verb, and Noun (2)

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin gurga, alteration of gurges, from Latin, whirlpool — more at voracious

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

1854, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gorge was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near gorge

Cite this Entry

“Gorge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gorge. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

gorge

1 of 2 noun
: a narrow passage, ravine, or steep-walled canyon

gorge

2 of 2 verb
gorged; gorging
: to eat greedily : stuff oneself
gorger noun

More from Merriam-Webster on gorge

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!