purge

1 of 2

verb

purged; purging

transitive verb

1
a
: to clear of guilt
b
: to free from moral or ceremonial defilement
2
a
: to cause evacuation from
purge the bowels
b(1)
: to make free of something unwanted
purge a manhole of gas
purge yourself of fear
(2)
: to free (something, such as a boiler) of sediment or relieve (something, such as a steam pipe) of trapped air by bleeding
c(1)
: to rid (a nation, a political party, etc.) by a purge
(2)
: to get rid of
the leaders had been purged

intransitive verb

1
: to become purged
2
: to have or produce frequent evacuations
3
: to cause purgation
purger noun

purge

2 of 2

noun

1
: something that purges
especially : purgative
2
a
: an act or instance of purging
b
: the removal of elements or members regarded as undesirable and especially as treacherous or disloyal

Did you know?

In some cultures, a ritual bath or prayer is performed to purge guilt or evil spirits. The Minoans of ancient Crete may have used human sacrifice as a way of purging the entire community, which is fine for the community but rough on the victims. In many cultures, people periodically purge themselves physically—that is, clean out their digestive tracts—by taking strong laxatives; this used to be a popular springtime ritual, and herbal purgatives were readily available.

Examples of purge in a Sentence

Verb High-ranking officials were purged from the company following the merger. a day on which the faithful are expected to purge themselves of their sins through prayer and fasting
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Instead, household names in the tech industry, including Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.), Google and Cisco have purged jobs in a widespread quest to correct their over-exuberant hiring during the coronavirus pandemic. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2024 Daniel Deronda was quickly brought out in Hebrew, purged of most of the English chapters. Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2024 At the helm of this group, Ataturk expelled Islam into the private sphere, banned religious brotherhoods, purged Islam from Turkish laws, and came close to outlawing religious education. Soner Cagaptay, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2024 Then clean out the area, purge, assess and find a system that fits. Marni Jameson, The Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2024 The issue became a hot-button one after DeSantis last year vowed to purge universities of DEI initiatives, calling them a poor use of tax dollars. Divya Kumar, Sun Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2024 At some point, Naomi had lost the ability to purge. Katie Engelhart, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2024 The guiding impulse seems to have been to purge every hint of warmth or subjectivity from the frame, and to subject the Hösses to a gaze as inhuman as their own. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023 By Charlie Campbell February 9, 2024 3:05 AM EST He’s been shot, jailed, had his political party effectively banned, and name purged from mainstream media. TIME, 9 Feb. 2024
Noun
What Leiko didn’t realize with her new role, or remained blind to, was she was being played by Stalin’s regime at the height of its murderous purges of political enemies. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2024 The purge follows Cisco’s late 2022 cutbacks that shed 5,000 workers and ahead of its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk, a deal that management now expects to complete by April 30. Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024 Marxism promotes self-criticism, and when applied to real politics has tended to lead to purges. Rana Mitter, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Consider a domestic purge with Venus entering Aquarius. USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2024 Sharif’s speedy rehabilitation stood in stark contrast to the generals’ Khan-and-PTI purge. TIME, 9 Feb. 2024 This change in investor sentiment, combined with slowing subscriber growth at most streamers, was a big reason for the aforementioned 2022 content purge implemented by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Vulture, 1 Feb. 2024 Halfway through what will be the biggest purge of Medicaid beneficiaries in a one-year span, enrollment in the government-run health insurance program is on track to return to roughly pre-pandemic levels. Phil Galewitz, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2024 Allison Joyce—Bloomberg/Getty Images Halfway through what will be the biggest purge of Medicaid beneficiaries in a one-year span, enrollment in the government-run health insurance program is on track to return to roughly pre-pandemic levels. Phil Galewitz, Fortune Well, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'purge.' 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

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French purger, from Latin purigare, purgare to purify, purge, from purus pure + -igare (akin to agere to drive, do) — more at act

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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

Dictionary Entries Near purge

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

purge

1 of 2 verb
purged; purging
1
: to make clean
2
: to have or cause strong and usually repeated emptying of the bowels

purge

2 of 2 noun
1
: an act or instance of purging
2
: something that purges

Medical Definition

purge

1 of 2 verb
purged; purging

transitive verb

1
: to cause evacuation from (as the bowels) or of or from the bowels of
drugs that purge the bowels
purged the patient with a cathartic
2
: to free (itself) of suspended matter usually by sedimentation
used of a liquid

intransitive verb

1
: to become purged
2
: to have or produce frequent evacuations
3
: to cause purgation

purge

2 of 2 noun
1
: something that purges
especially : purgative
2
: an act or instance of purging

Legal Definition

purge

transitive verb
purged; purging
1
: to clear (as oneself or another) of guilt
purged himself of contempt
2
: to become no longer guilty of
purge the contempt

More from Merriam-Webster on purge

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!