gorge

¹

[gawrj]

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.

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.

gorge

²

[gawrj]

noun

Heraldry.

1. gurge.

gorge

/ 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

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

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.

Other Word Forms

• gorgeable adjective
• gorgedly adverb
• gorger noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gorge¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of gorge¹

C14: from Old French gorger to stuff, from gorge throat, from Late Latin gurga, modification of Latin gurges whirlpool

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

   The cruelty of war made his gorge rise.

Example Sentences

Halse would have more archive footage to gorge on, but for John Mitchell.

From BBC

After spending July gorging on the larvae of alkali flies, the birds are gradually departing this month to begin their migration to another saline lake about 6,000 miles away — Laguna Mar Chiquita in Argentina.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead, the American and British public gorged on the sensationalism because that was the supposedly “official” record.

From Salon

He said he was aware the gorge flooded so he checked the weather forecast on the morning of 3 September.

From BBC

These "unsung heroes" called zooplankton gorge themselves and grow fat in spring before sinking hundreds of metres into the deep ocean in Antarctica where they burn the fat.

From BBC

Related Words

• canyon 
• chasm 
• crevasse 
• ravine