eating disorder

American  

noun

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

---

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.

---

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

In dealing with the serious topic of bulimia, Early was careful never to make the eating disorder the joke.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Early findings suggest it may also help with conditions related to impulse control, including binge eating disorder.

From Science Daily • Dec. 8, 2025

Whaite explained he has bulimia, an eating disorder, and body dysmorphia, where a person perceives defects in their own body which are often less noticeable to others.

From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025

Zander is sometimes depressed, too, and Annabelle herself is anxious, and Sierra is edging toward an eating disorder, and those are only the things she knows for sure.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti