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

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

"They could actually contribute to an eating disorder developing for somebody who is already at risk."

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

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

From Science Daily • Dec. 8, 2025

For this reason, many eating disorder treatment professionals balk at the idea of labeling some foods as addictive.

From Salon • Oct. 13, 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