gorge
1 Americannoun
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a narrow cleft with steep, rocky walls, especially one through which a stream runs.
-
a small canyon.
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a gluttonous meal.
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something that is swallowed; contents of the stomach.
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an obstructing mass.
an ice gorge.
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the seam formed at the point where the lapel meets the collar of a jacket or coat.
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Fortification. the rear entrance or part of a bastion or similar outwork.
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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.
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the throat; gullet.
verb (used with object)
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gorges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gorged,
past participle, past
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gorging
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
gorges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gorged,
past participle, past
-
gorging
present participle
idioms
noun
noun
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a deep ravine, esp one through which a river runs
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the contents of the stomach
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feelings of disgust or resentment (esp in the phrase one's gorge rises )
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an obstructing mass
an ice gorge
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fortifications
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a narrow rear entrance to a work
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the narrow part of a bastion or outwork
-
-
archaic the throat or gullet
verb
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(intr) falconry (of hawks) to eat until the crop is completely full
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to swallow (food) ravenously
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(tr) to stuff (oneself) with food
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gorgesimple
-
gorgessimple
-
have gorgedperfect
-
has gorgedperfect
-
am gorgingprogressive
-
are gorgingprogressive
-
is gorgingprogressive
-
have been gorgingperfect progressive
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has been gorgingperfect progressive
Past
-
gorgedsimple
-
had gorgedperfect
-
was gorgingprogressive
-
were gorgingprogressive
-
had been gorgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gorge
First recorded in 1325–75; (verb) Middle English, from Old French gorger, derivative of gorge “throat,” from unattested Vulgar Latin gorga, akin to Latin gurguliō “gullet, throat,” gurges “whirlpool, eddy”
Explanation
A gorge is a very deep crevice between two mountains or hills. Gorges are formed by rivers running through and eroding rock over a very long period of time. The Latin root of gorge means "throat," leading to both the "narrow passage" meaning and the French gorgier, "to swallow," which influenced the verb version of gorge, "to overeat." You may love to gorge on ice cream, but the stomachache afterward won't be very pleasant. To remember the "canyon" meaning, think of the famous upstate New York bumper sticker, “Ithaca is gorges.” It's a play on gorgeous, meaning beautiful, and the beautiful ravines in the area.
Vocabulary lists containing gorge
Hatchet
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Physical Geography - Introductory
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Anyone hoping to prosper by holding a leveraged ETF for the long run should ponder Shōhaku’s lions tumbling into the depths of the gorge and the long, treacherous path back to the top.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
A colony of macaques that gorge on snacks offered by tourists in the British territory of Gibraltar swallow soil to recover from their junk food binges, a study has found.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
The ambitious action-adventure's been compared to a buffet, presenting players with a smorgasbord of ideas, gameplay styles and quests to gorge on.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026
Her partner initially came to her rescue and alerted the emergency services, setting in motion a huge operation to help Leah who had landed in a gorge of the River Llech.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
My voice echoed spooky between trestle and water and gorge.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
It offers quiet roads along coastlines and river gorges and into mountains, among rice paddies and through towns with tiled roofs where villagers pride themselves on their Shikoku hospitality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
"The gorges are very deep and steep, so that's the difficulty."
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
Wind speeds can increase further as they funnel through the valleys and gorges in the area, much like water increases its speed as it passes through a hose.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2025
In the same way that trees function as Earth's lungs, migrating animals—eating, pooping and dying along the way—circulate nitrogen and phosphorus from deep-sea gorges to mountain peaks and from the poles to the tropics.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 19, 2023
To the left, pine-clad slopes, frowning cliffs, narrow gorges, and blue peaks stretched away as far as the eye could reach.
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
“You think that Alex Jones gorged himself on Whataburger? You’re saying five triple cheeseburgers and how many fry boxes?”
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
Foreign media gorged themselves on the tale of the haves and the have-nots.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
January tends to come with a slowdown in spending after consumers have gorged on shopping for the holidays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
Instead, the American and British public gorged on the sensationalism because that was the supposedly “official” record.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2025
Even now, as Master Gogolev gorged himself on food and self-pity, son and father sat in Lord Fredrick’s taxidermy-filled study only one floor below, speaking of Switzerland, wallpaper, and baby names.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Bats are invaluable in agriculture, gorging on pests that target crops — corn earworms, brown stink bugs, cucumber beetles and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The private-equity industry, after gorging on technology investments in the wake of the pandemic, is now coming back around to bread-and-butter companies such as industrial suppliers and service providers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2025
Rather, it denotes licentiousness and lack of control, the actions of a toddler gorging himself on chocolate until he is sick.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2025
So Lewis and astrostatistician Brendon Brewer instead investigated much larger, more luminous objects known as quasars—bright astrophysical beacons formed from supermassive black holes gorging on gas at the centers of distant galaxies.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 19, 2023
More than one of the residents had dreamed of gorging on a magnificent banquet, only to wake up devastated.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
