gorge 1 of 2

Definition of gorgenext

gorge

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to stuff
to fill with food to capacity we gorged ourselves on the four pies Aunt Martha had brought for Thanksgiving

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in to feast
to eat greedily or to excess the kids began gorging on Halloween candy the minute they got back from trick-or-treating

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in to devour
to swallow or eat greedily the ravenous dogs furiously gorged the scraps of meat

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word gorge different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of gorge are cloy, glut, pall, sate, satiate, and surfeit. While all these words mean "to fill to repletion," gorge suggests glutting to the point of bursting or choking.

gorged themselves with chocolate

When can cloy be used instead of gorge?

The words cloy and gorge can be used in similar contexts, but cloy stresses the disgust or boredom resulting from such surfeiting.

sentimental pictures that cloy after a while

When might glut be a better fit than gorge?

Although the words glut and gorge have much in common, glut implies excess in feeding or supplying.

a market glutted with diet books

Where would pall be a reasonable alternative to gorge?

While in some cases nearly identical to gorge, pall emphasizes the loss of ability to stimulate interest or appetite.

a life of leisure eventually begins to pall

How do satiate and sate relate to one another, in the sense of gorge?

Both 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

When could surfeit be used to replace gorge?

While the synonyms surfeit and gorge are close in meaning, surfeit implies a nauseating repletion.

surfeited themselves with junk food

How is the word gorge different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of gorge are cloy, glut, pall, sate, satiate, and surfeit. While all these words mean "to fill to repletion," gorge suggests glutting to the point of bursting or choking.

gorged themselves with chocolate

When can cloy be used instead of gorge?

The words cloy and gorge can be used in similar contexts, but cloy stresses the disgust or boredom resulting from such surfeiting.

sentimental pictures that cloy after a while

When might glut be a better fit than gorge?

Although the words glut and gorge have much in common, glut implies excess in feeding or supplying.

a market glutted with diet books

Where would pall be a reasonable alternative to gorge?

While in some cases nearly identical to gorge, pall emphasizes the loss of ability to stimulate interest or appetite.

a life of leisure eventually begins to pall

How do satiate and sate relate to one another, in the sense of gorge?

Both 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

When could surfeit be used to replace gorge?

While the synonyms surfeit and gorge are close in meaning, surfeit implies a nauseating repletion.

surfeited themselves with junk food

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gorge
Noun
Soon, there could be military boots on the ground crossing into the Islamic Republic of Iran from this terrain of fertile valleys, deep gorges and ancient Mesopotamian trade routes perched below the mountainous border dividing Iraq and Iran. Younes Mohammad, USA Today, 15 Mar. 2026 Ronda’s main attractions are its gorge-spanning bridges, an intriguing old town, and one of the oldest bullrings in Spain. Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 10 Mar. 2026
Verb
Of all the schemes that humans have devised to keep sea lions from gorging on the salmon of the Columbia River basin, none has worked for long. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2026 Our collective efforts were failing as residents battled billionaires and the politicians gorging on them. Josh Peter, USA Today, 20 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gorge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gorge
Noun
  • Exploring cities like Rome, Madrid, and Athens now means walking through shaded canyons and subterranean malls that feel like airport terminals.
    Big Think, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Wind prone canyons along US-395 may see gusts up to 80 mph.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • He was named the MaxPreps Colorado Player of the Year after consistently stuffing the stat sheet, affecting the game in every way while also playing dynamic defense.
    Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 29 Mar. 2026
  • At least 33 bodies — including children and dismembered remains stuffed in sacks — were unearthed from a mass grave in western Kenya on Thursday, raising questions about whether the corpses were secretly moved from a hospital morgue.
    Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 29 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Someone had stashed a film camera in an apartment high above the plaza, capturing a scene of rowdy onlookers feasting on sausage sandwiches and uncorking bottles of wine as—after a series of delays—the blade dropped on Weidmann’s nape.
    Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2026
  • The population is still threatened by urbanization, insecticides and non-native fire ants that feast on the eggs and babies.
    Matt Leclercq, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • From her experience, the grasshopper drawing attention in Arizona devours everything in its path, whereas the chapulín is tied to greener environments and specific crops, such as cornfields, alfalfa, and squash leaves.
    Nadia Cantú, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Astronomers have used the XRISM (X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) X-ray spacecraft to discover that a star is being slowly devoured by an elusive stellar companion, solving a mystery that has baffled scientists for over a century.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 25 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • In 2024, Contra Costa County investigators searched a ravine and found the ladder Matthew Muller described using to climb into a family's house weeks after the March 2015 attack on Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn.
    Lauren Clark, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
  • The trees, lining the base of the ravine at the park’s narrow creek, have been turned to stumps and piles of branches.
    Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 26 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The 2026 Alan Ritchson–starring Netflix movie War Machine, not to be confused with the 2017 Brad Pitt–starring Netflix movie War Machine, is sating a public appetite.
    Chris Klimek, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
  • At one point, Roen said, officials even tried piling frozen beavers outside the wolves’ den to sate their hunger.
    Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Research shows that this approach can also lead to overeating, too.
    Sally Kuzemchak, Parents, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Avoid skipping meals, which can slow your metabolism and lead to overeating later.
    Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, Health, 3 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • When spores are inhaled, symptoms include fever, nausea and chest pain.
    Hannah Kinzer, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2026
  • When a degraded grassland returns to health, the ground heaves up, as if inhaling with relief.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Gorge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gorge. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

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