orgy

noun

or·​gy ˈȯr-jē 

plural orgies

1

: secret ceremonial rites held in honor of an ancient Greek or Roman deity and usually characterized by ecstatic singing and dancing

Roman orgies in honor of Bacchus

2

a

: drunken revelry

b

: a sexual encounter involving many people

also : an excessive sexual indulgence (see indulgence sense 1a)

3

: excessive indulgence (see indulgence sense 1a) in something especially to satisfy an inordinate appetite or craving

an orgy of destruction

a national orgy of thrill seeking and risk taking

—K. T. Greenfeld

Did you know?

Unsexy Orgies

Orgy is a word which for many immediately conjures salacious imagery and blushed cheeks. However, both the oldest and the most recently-adopted senses of this word contain meanings which may not be at all sexual in nature. The word first came into English in the middle of the 16th century in reference to secret ceremonial rites, particularly those of the Romans and ancient Greeks, which involved singing and dancing. The licentious meaning was not added until the beginning of the 18th century. And the most recent senses (“a riotous display” and “a manifestation of extreme indulgence”), which may describe such things as an assembly of garish colors or a spectacle of destruction, appear to date from the late 19th century.

Examples of orgy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s the magical-realist orgy of corruption: Gómez stole so much of Venezuela’s oil wealth, and Maduro has allegedly trafficked so much cocaine through the country, that one was and the other is among the world’s criminally richest men. —Tim Padgett, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2024

Yes, that is true, but that’s like being at a high-school sleepover and everyone has made out with another person, but one slumber-partier has been to several orgies. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2024

Mao's signature carnage, the Cultural Revolution, was a chaotic orgy of violence, a world apart from Stalin's meticulously scripted Great Terror and show trials of the 1930s. —Nick Frisch, Foreign Affairs, 18 Oct. 2017

Instead, an orgy of excitement has accompanied Harris’s rise. —Matthew Continetti, National Review, 27 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French orgie, from Latin orgia, plural, from Greek; akin to Greek ergon work — more at work

First Known Use

circa 1561, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

orgy

noun

or·​gy ˈȯr-jē 

plural orgies

1

: secret ceremonies in honor of an ancient Greek or Roman god usually celebrated by wild singing and dancing

2

: something (as a party) that resembles an orgy in lack of control