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engorgement

American  
[en-gawrj-muhnt] / ɛnˈgɔrdʒ mənt /

noun

  1. congestion of the vessels or ducts of a part of the body with blood, milk, or other bodily fluid.

    Midwives may use acupressure techniques to reduce breast engorgement after delivery.

  2. the act of feeding on something greedily or excessively.

    In cows and other ruminants, engorgement on grain can lead to hyperacidity and impaired microbial digestion.

  3. the condition of being flooded, overfilled, or oversupplied.

    The reef just below Station 54 is the probable cause of the engorgement of the river during its high phase.

    Speculators took advantage of deregulation and the parasitic engorgement of the financial world.


Etymology

Origin of engorgement

First recorded in 1605–15; engorge ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

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.

“The engorgement of the American vehicle,” as Gregory Shill of the University of Iowa has called it, can kill pedestrians and people in smaller vehicles.

From New York Times • Aug. 23, 2022

She hopes to end the stigma around breastfeeding by discussing subjects like mastitis and engorgement with her male colleagues, although it sometimes makes them squirm.

From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2019

The first few weeks of breastfeeding may involve leakage, soreness, and periods of milk engorgement as the relationship between milk supply and infant demand becomes established.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

A woman who stopped breastfeeding suddenly is experiencing breast engorgement and leakage, just like she did in the first few weeks of breastfeeding.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Extreme engorgement, on the contrary, may be followed by rupture of previously weakened arteries and capillaries and cause immediate death, designated then as a stroke of apoplexy.

From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Michener, Charles B.