engorge
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to swallow greedily; glut or gorge.
The fish love to follow the boat and engorge on bait.
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to congest or swell with a bodily fluid, as milk ducts in the breast or blood vessels in a part of the body.
As these blood vessels engorge, they put pressure on a large cranial nerve.
Your breasts may become painfully engorged if the baby does not feed properly.
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to swell with any fluid.
The Yellow River becomes engorged during the summer monsoon season.
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to overfill or oversupply with anything.
It seems that the market is already so engorged, it just can’t absorb any more tech right now.
verb
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pathol to congest with blood
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to eat (food) ravenously or greedily
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to gorge (oneself); glut; satiate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of engorge
From the Middle French word engorger, dating back to 1505–15. See en- 1, gorge 1
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:
Coastal bears engorge themselves on salmon runs and then disperse marine nutrients in measurable quantities.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2024
The possibility that torrents of water will run down mountain slopes, engorge waterways, and flood streets and communities, means residents should pay attention to their local weather sources and alerts.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 18, 2023
Quasars are bright objects powered by "supermassive" black holes blasting out energy as they engorge themselves on gas, dust, and other matter within their gravitational grasp, according to Nasa.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2023
Elongate and engorge a gastraphetes’ central cylinder to the point that a dragon would notice it, however, and it becomes impossible to fire without gripping it more firmly than even the strongest archer could manage.
From Slate ● May 7, 2019
Some plants engorge themselves with water in the rare rainfall and store it for future use.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
All collected specimens were engorged, showing they had fed enough to significantly increase their size.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 28, 2026
Officers in Lake Del Valle, California airlifted a woman to safety after she drove into an engorged creek.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2024
Tropical Storm Hilary engorged the waterway, usually just a dawdling stream during the summer, widening its banks from 15 to 100 feet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
Bieleski lives in the town of Lajeado, which was badly hit by floodwaters from the engorged Taquari river.
From Reuters ● Sep. 8, 2023
It tried to fly, too engorged to escape.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
As the writer Chris Kraus defines it: “the book as Blob, swallowing and engorging … Unwise and unstoppable.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2023
Across Asia melting snow and ice are engorging rivers and undercutting hill slopes, making them prone to collapse.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 20, 2023
At lower elevations, a foot or more of rain could fall, engorging rivers flowing out of the mountains.
From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2017
On an impulse of terror he jumped back from the engorging night and bumped his forehead on one of the brass knobs of the bedstead.
From The Altar Steps by MacKenzie, Compton
While engorging herself with our blood, we will examine under the microscope the mosquito's mouth.
From Our Common Insects A Popular Account of the Insects of Our Fields, Forests, Gardens and Houses by Packard, A. S. (Alpheus Spring)
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.
