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

These were the sounds of massive castle doors creaking, undead eagles screaming, ghosts having orgies, and demonic car alarms. —Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 5 June 2023

The 2008 movie was an orgy of violence, as A.O. Scott noted in his review in The Times. —Neil Genzlinger, New York Times, 23 May 2023

Kids tied up their Barbies, dismembered them, acted out conflicts, and held orgies, too. —Sarah Seltzer, Time, 19 July 2023

Wolston even named a coffee table that looks like a dozen legs squished together after an orgy. —Curbed, 5 June 2023

Hefner had a cache of tapes and videos of orgies and drug consumption to use in case anyone threatened to squeal, according to Theodore and others. —Maria Puente, USA TODAY, 10 July 2023

Norman Mailer tried to inveigle his dinner guests into an orgy, and not long after wrote a cruel letter to Styron, breaking off their friendship. —Marion Winik, Washington Post, 15 June 2023

An exotic dancer once told prosecutors in Milan that these parties were like orgies, with Berlusconi and a group of young women performing a ritual in the nude. —Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 June 2023

Both DeSantis and Kemp were accused in the press of laying the groundwork for an orgy of death, but the media derangement never matched reality. —The Editors, National Review, 1 June 2023

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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