Gomorrah

American  

[guh-mawr-uh, -mor-uh] / gəˈmɔr ə, -ˈmɒr ə /

noun

1. Also Gomorrha. (in the Bible) an ancient city destroyed, with Sodom, because of its wickedness.

2. any extremely wicked place.

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Gomorrah British  

/ ɡəˈmɒrə /

noun

1. Old Testament one of two ancient cities near the Dead Sea, the other being Sodom, that were destroyed by God as a punishment for the wickedness of their inhabitants (Genesis 19:24)

2. any place notorious for vice and depravity

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Gomorrean
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Gomorrah

From Late Latin Gomorr(h)a(m), from Greek Gómorr(h)a, an abnormal transliteration of Hebrew ʿămōrāh “sheaf (of grain)”; the normal transliteration of ʿămōrāh is Amora

Example Sentences

It comes shortly before the 80th anniversary of the allied bombing of Hamburg in July known as "Operation Gomorrah" that killed some 40,000 people and destroyed swathes of the city.

From Reuters • Mar. 31, 2023

The trip serves as a useful decompression chamber between Sodom and Gomorrah and Eden — an overture to “City,” through an increasingly barren, eye-popping landscape.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 21, 2022

Will Bob escape this small-town Gomorrah for a new life in the big city, or has he been so neutered by Neuterburg that he is stuck there for good?

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2018

We come by it honestly: Jews have been arguing since Abraham verbally jousted with God over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.

From Washington Post • Oct. 4, 2018

In the powerful humidity the powdered mix got transfigured like Lot’s poor wife who looked back at Gomorrah and got turned to a pillar of salt.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver