eating disorder

American  

noun

1. any of various disorders, as anorexia nervosa or bulimia, characterized by severe disturbances in eating habits.

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eating disorder Scientific  

/ ē′tĭng /

1. Any of several patterns of severely disturbed eating behavior, especially anorexia nervosa and bulimia, seen mainly in female teenagers and young women.

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Etymology

Origin of eating disorder

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Recently, Nagata had a patient who was hospitalized for an eating disorder and the patient showed him all the drugs and supplements he learned about from social media and was taking for various appearance-related things.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

"Some of the side effects of weight-loss injections, like nausea and vomiting, could also be very triggering to someone who has an existing eating disorder," she said.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Amber Glenn recalls struggling with depression and an eating disorder early in her career.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026

But for anyone who’s tangled with an eating disorder — and the way its tendrils quietly siphon joy from even the simplest routines — it is something.

From Salon • Jan. 1, 2026

At the age of eleven, Khaleh Mandana began to display signs of an eating disorder, and doctors advised that she was better off living with her mother.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi