disgorge
Americanverb (used with object)
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to eject or throw out from the throat, mouth, or stomach; vomit forth.
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to surrender or yield (something, especially something illicitly obtained).
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to discharge forcefully or as a result of force.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to throw out (swallowed food, etc) from the throat or stomach; vomit
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to discharge or empty of (contents)
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(tr) to yield up unwillingly or under pressure
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(tr) angling to remove (a hook) from the mouth or throat of (a fish)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disgorge
1470–80; < Middle French desgorger, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + -gorger, derivative of gorge throat; see gorge 1
Explanation
There's really no way to put this delicately. Disgorge is just a fancy word for "throw up." Usually, this somewhat icky word is applied to birds or animals rather than people. Gorge is an old-fashioned word for the throat, so to disgorge is to eject something through the throat. (Yuck.) In addition to its literal meaning, disgorge also has the broader metaphorical meaning of "to empty out." So a bus might disgorge its passengers and a spy might disgorge her secrets — for the right price.
Vocabulary lists containing disgorge
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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:
The Securities and Exchange Commission requires owners of 10% or more of a public company’s stock to disgorge all profits realized within any six-month period.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Finally, the trucks would disgorge their citrus into a harvest wagon, the giant flatbed, which would be driven by semitruck to the processing center.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
Pere points over to the port, far beyond the rows of street vendors and swelling crowds filling the square, explaining that some cruises disgorge as many of 12,000 visitors every day onto the island.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2024
But while restrained in form and implications, “Zone” is never coy, and is surprisingly quick to disgorge its secrets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2023
The people, forced to disgorge ever- increasing tribute to Tenochtitlan, were resentful and bitter.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
“These issues were resolved in 2021 and concluded when the Collins campaign disgorged the illegal contributions that Martin Kao had made without our knowledge.”
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Once it disgorged its haul, Al-Zaharnah, a burly, weary-looking 56-year-old, climbed over the detritus and bent low for a closer look.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
The Springfield Armory, which made fewer than 10,000 rifles in 1860, disgorged more than 800,000 over the following four years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Musk has also asked for billions of dollars made by the for-profit business to be disgorged, with the proceeds directed to OpenAI’s nonprofit arm.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
Lake freighters disgorged pale wooden crates emblazoned with phrases in strange alphabets.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
At least four have sunk in the harbour, disgorging rubbish and fuel into waters that are part of a marine reserve.
From Reuters ● Nov. 24, 2023
The clock says 5:30 a.m., but the parking lot of Sonora Market already has become an anthill as trucks cruise in and out disgorging farmworkers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2022
Rebranded as Súil, a Gaelic word meaning “hope,” the sparkling viognier is still made by hand through riddling, disgorging and recorking, and in limited quantities.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 24, 2021
On game days, Wrigleyville is usually thronged with people in Cubs gear, with each new arrival of the elevated train disgorging hundreds of new fans.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2020
In fact, as the disgorging throngs below me demonstrated now, people haven’t tired of it yet.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
