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:
Complimentary coffee appears in the Surfcomber’s lobby at 7 a.m., and tastes much better than anything an in-room Keurig will disgorge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Leigh doesn’t put his characters on the couch or disgorge the traumas that are etched in every word and gesture.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
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
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
It wants him to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in disgorged trading profits and penalties.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
Lake freighters disgorged pale wooden crates emblazoned with phrases in strange alphabets.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
A world with no AP classes, basketball fundraisers or backpacks disgorging papers that I should have signed last week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025
The whole point of disgorging profits is that you’re taking the ill-gotten gains away from the wrongdoer.
From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2024
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
A blend of chardonnay and pinot noir, aged 18 to 20 months before disgorging, it shows complexity and nuance as ripe orchard fruit flavors dance with notes of toasty brioche.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2022
You scan the street: there are no cabs pulling up and disgorging screaming mothers.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
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.
