gorge

¹ American  

[gawrj] / gɔrdʒ /

noun

1. a narrow cleft with steep, rocky walls, especially one through which a stream runs.

   Synonyms:

   gap, notch, ravine, defile

2. a small canyon.

3. a gluttonous meal.

4. something that is swallowed; contents of the stomach.

5. an obstructing mass.

   an ice gorge.

6. the seam formed at the point where the lapel meets the collar of a jacket or coat.

7. Fortification. the rear entrance or part of a bastion or similar outwork.

8. Also called gorge hook.  a primitive type of fishhook consisting of a piece of stone or bone with sharpened ends and a hole or groove in the center for fastening a line.

9. the throat; gullet.

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verb (used with object)

gorged, gorging

1. to stuff with food (usually used reflexively or passively).

   He gorged himself. They were gorged.

   Synonyms:

   fill, cram, glut

2. to swallow, especially greedily.

   Synonyms:

   gobble, gulp, bolt, devour

3. to choke up (usually used passively).

verb (used without object)

gorged, gorging

1. to eat greedily.

idioms

1. make one's gorge rise, to evoke violent anger or strong disgust.

   The cruelty of war made his gorge rise.

gorge ² American  

[gawrj] / gɔrdʒ /

noun

Heraldry.

1. gurge.

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gorge British  

/ ɡɔːdʒ /

noun

1. a deep ravine, esp one through which a river runs

2. the contents of the stomach

3. feelings of disgust or resentment (esp in the phrase one's gorge rises )

4. an obstructing mass

   an ice gorge

5. fortifications

   1. a narrow rear entrance to a work

   2. the narrow part of a bastion or outwork

6. archaic the throat or gullet

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verb

1. (intr) falconry (of hawks) to eat until the crop is completely full

2. to swallow (food) ravenously

3. (tr) to stuff (oneself) with food

gorge Scientific  

/ gôrj /

1. A deep, narrow valley with steep rocky sides, often with a stream flowing through it. Gorges are smaller and narrower than canyons and are often a part of a canyon.

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Other Word Forms

• gorgeable adjective
• gorgedly adverb
• gorger noun

Etymology

Origin of gorge

First recorded in 1325–75; (verb) Middle English, from Old French gorger, derivative of gorge “throat,” from unattested Vulgar Latin gorga, akin to Latin gurguliō “gullet, throat,” gurges “whirlpool, eddy”

Example Sentences

The foliage cleared, and there, at the bottom of a narrow gorge, was a thin stream of water.

From Literature

January tends to come with a slowdown in spending after consumers have gorged on shopping for the holidays.

From The Wall Street Journal

Barely a handful of winters have passed since Patriots fans, still gorging on six titles,

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s there that the baleen filter feeders spend the summer gorging on tiny crustaceans from the muddy bottom of the Bering, Chuckchi and Beaufort seas, creating shallow pits or potholes in the process.

From Los Angeles Times

Then there’s a gorge in between and it’s filled with all these, like, monster people that are trying to get them.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• canyon
• chasm
• crevasse
• ravine