eating disorder

American  

noun

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

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of eating disorder

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Oscar-frontrunner Jessie Buckley has said acting is "like water to me" as she spoke about how passion for her craft helped her overcome an eating disorder and depression as a teenager.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

She also testified that her older sister suffered from an eating disorder — details the defense sought to portray as the source of her body dysmorphia.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

"Some of the side effects of weight-loss injections, like nausea and vomiting, could also be very triggering to someone who has an existing eating disorder," she said.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

But for anyone who’s tangled with an eating disorder — and the way its tendrils quietly siphon joy from even the simplest routines — it is something.

From Salon • Jan. 1, 2026

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