gorge
1 Americannoun
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a narrow cleft with steep, rocky walls, especially one through which a stream runs.
-
a small canyon.
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a gluttonous meal.
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something that is swallowed; contents of the stomach.
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an obstructing mass.
an ice gorge.
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the seam formed at the point where the lapel meets the collar of a jacket or coat.
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Fortification. the rear entrance or part of a bastion or similar outwork.
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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.
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the throat; gullet.
verb (used with object)
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gorges,
present (3rd person singular)
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gorged,
past participle, past
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gorging
present participle
verb (used without object)
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gorges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gorged,
past participle, past
-
gorging
present participle
idioms
noun
noun
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a deep ravine, esp one through which a river runs
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the contents of the stomach
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feelings of disgust or resentment (esp in the phrase one's gorge rises )
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an obstructing mass
an ice gorge
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fortifications
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a narrow rear entrance to a work
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the narrow part of a bastion or outwork
-
-
archaic the throat or gullet
verb
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(intr) falconry (of hawks) to eat until the crop is completely full
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to swallow (food) ravenously
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(tr) to stuff (oneself) with food
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gorgesimple
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gorgessimple
-
have gorgedperfect
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has gorgedperfect
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am gorgingprogressive
-
are gorgingprogressive
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is gorgingprogressive
-
have been gorgingperfect progressive
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has been gorgingperfect progressive
Past
-
gorgedsimple
-
had gorgedperfect
-
was gorgingprogressive
-
were gorgingprogressive
-
had been gorgingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
A gorge is a very deep crevice between two mountains or hills. Gorges are formed by rivers running through and eroding rock over a very long period of time. The Latin root of gorge means "throat," leading to both the "narrow passage" meaning and the French gorgier, "to swallow," which influenced the verb version of gorge, "to overeat." You may love to gorge on ice cream, but the stomachache afterward won't be very pleasant. To remember the "canyon" meaning, think of the famous upstate New York bumper sticker, “Ithaca is gorges.” It's a play on gorgeous, meaning beautiful, and the beautiful ravines in the area.
Vocabulary lists containing gorge
Hatchet
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Physical Geography - Introductory
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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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:
He said that in the wild, ducks gorge before migration and store fat in their livers and argues that "gavage" -- the process of force-feeding -- is a traditional means of animal husbandry.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Around 60 to 70 trucks passed through the gorge each day, carrying electronics, machinery, vehicles, fruit, clothing and other goods towards Kathmandu.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
In warmer weather, outdoor life shifts to hiking and fly-fishing in Spearfish Canyon Nature Area, a 20-mile gorge in Lead’s backyard lined with 1,000-foot limestone cliffs and waterfalls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
A pantheon of past winners gather to celebrate their success and gorge on a set menu specially selected by the previous year's victor.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
So Lyra clung to Pantalaimon and her head swam and her gorge rose, and cold as the night was, a sickly sweat moistened her flesh with something colder still.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
It offers quiet roads along coastlines and river gorges and into mountains, among rice paddies and through towns with tiled roofs where villagers pride themselves on their Shikoku hospitality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
"The gorges are very deep and steep, so that's the difficulty."
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
I wish I could be enthusiastic, but “Eat Me” is a relentlessly quirky work that gorges on its own dark whimsy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
Wind speeds can increase further as they funnel through the valleys and gorges in the area, much like water increases its speed as it passes through a hose.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2025
Right smack in the middle of flat plains were jagged peaks and steep gorges.
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
January tends to come with a slowdown in spending after consumers have gorged on shopping for the holidays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
But it’s not like I opened the box and gorged myself on the pictures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2025
Instead, the American and British public gorged on the sensationalism because that was the supposedly “official” record.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2025
Steve Smith and Travis Head gorged on some below-par bowling before the Aussie pace bowlers thundered into a shell-shocked India top order.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2023
We gorged ourselves till we thought we’d pop.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Bats are invaluable in agriculture, gorging on pests that target crops — corn earworms, brown stink bugs, cucumber beetles and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The private-equity industry, after gorging on technology investments in the wake of the pandemic, is now coming back around to bread-and-butter companies such as industrial suppliers and service providers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2025
And lots of fright fans don’t limit their horror entertainment to spooky season, gorging horror movies, shows and books all year long.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2024
“It seems to have been really gorging itself, eating very rapidly.”
From Scientific American ● Sep. 28, 2023
The authorities would be telling them that we were not participating in the strike, that we were gorging ourselves on gourmet meals.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
