gorge1
[gawrj]
- a narrow cleft with steep, rocky walls, especially one through which a stream runs.
- a small canyon.
- a gluttonous meal.
- something that is swallowed; contents of the stomach.
- an obstructing mass: an ice gorge.
- the seam formed at the point where the lapel meets the collar of a jacket or coat.
- Fortification. the rear entrance or part of a bastion or similar outwork.
- Also called gorge hook. a primitive type of fishhook consisting of a piece of stone or bone with sharpened ends and a hole or groove in the center for fastening a line.
- the throat; gullet.
- to stuff with food (usually used reflexively or passively): He gorged himself. They were gorged.
- to swallow, especially greedily.
- to choke up (usually used passively).
- to eat greedily.
- make one's gorge rise, to evoke violent anger or strong disgust: The cruelty of war made his gorge rise.
Origin of gorge1
1325–75; (v.) Middle English < Old French gorger, derivative of gorge throat < Vulgar Latin *gorga, akin to Latin gurguliō gullet, throat, gurges whirlpool, eddy
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. defile, ravine, notch, gap. 10. glut, cram, fill. 11. devour. 11, 13. bolt, gulp, gobble.
gorge2
[gawrj]
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for gorges
Contemporary Examples
These were then spread over a 300-mile radius, covered in ravines, gorges and pine forests.
She is a perpetually single woman in her 30s who gorges on junk food.
Historical Examples
St. nimie is not once mentioned, and nothing is said about the gorges of the Tarn.
The Roof of FranceMatilda Betham-Edwards
All about me are grand views, for the clouds are playing again in the gorges.
He was, no doubt, at present in the gorges beyond the forests of the Mambava.
SacrificeStephen French Whitman
The rest forsook the mules and took to the gorges, where the horses could not follow them.
CarmenProsper Merimee
Upon this Gorges pushed Raleigh's boat away, and bid him hasten home.
RaleighEdmund Gosse
gorge
- a deep ravine, esp one through which a river runs
- the contents of the stomach
- feelings of disgust or resentment (esp in the phrase one's gorge rises)
- an obstructing massan ice gorge
- fortifications
- a narrow rear entrance to a work
- the narrow part of a bastion or outwork
- archaic the throat or gullet
- (intr) falconry (of hawks) to eat until the crop is completely full
- to swallow (food) ravenously
- (tr) to stuff (oneself) with food
Word Origin
C14: from Old French gorger to stuff, from gorge throat, from Late Latin gurga, modification of Latin gurges whirlpool
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for gorges
gorge
v.
"eat greedily," c.1300, from Old French gorger, from gorge (see gorge (n.)). Related: Gorged; gorging.
gorge
n.
mid-14c., "throat," from Old French gorge "throat, bosom," from Late Latin gurges "gullet, throat, jaws," of uncertain origin, probably related to Latin gurgulio "gullet, windpipe," from PIE *gwere- "to swallow." Transferred sense of "deep, narrow valley" was in Old French.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
gorge
[gôrj]
- A deep, narrow valley with steep rocky sides, often with a stream flowing through it. Gorges are smaller and narrower than canyons and are often a part of a canyon.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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