disgorge

verb

dis·​gorge (ˌ)dis-ˈgȯrj 

disgorged; disgorging; disgorges

transitive verb

1

: to discharge by the throat and mouth : vomit

Like llamas, which disgorge stomach juices to show pique or displeasure, many animals spew fluids from their mouths, and for a variety of reasons.

—Noel Vietmeyer

2

: to discharge or let go of rapidly or forcefully

The train disgorged its passengers.

Low-flying planes disgorged wave after wave of para-troopers.

—Michael Dobbs

Customers arrive in human waves, sometimes disgorged fifty at a time from their tour buses …

—Barbara Ehrenreich

3

: to give up or reveal (something) on request or under pressure

The Times was threatened with its $5,000-a-day fine if it failed to obey a court order in New Jersey to disgorge the name of one of its news sources …

—The New York Sun

… the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Sept. 5 ordered a … salesman to disgorge about $468,000 he had earned by defrauding Iowa banks that were his customers.

—The National Law Journal

4

: to remove (sediment) from (a bottle of sparkling wine) after secondary fermentation in the bottle is complete

The bottles are gently turned daily for about six weeks until they are almost upside down in the rack. Then the sediment, concentrated in the neck of the bottle, is disgorged.

—Leslie Martin

intransitive verb

: to discharge contents

where the river disgorges into the sea

Synonyms

• belch
• eject
• eruct
• erupt
• expel
• jet
• spew
• spout
• spurt

Examples of disgorge in a Sentence

We watched the airplane disgorging its passengers at the gate.

The damaged ship disgorged thousands of gallons of oil into the bay.

The river disgorges into the ocean just south of the city.

Recent Examples on the Web

Every day, from front-line towns and cities across the country, trains disgorged throngs of desperate people seeking safe haven. —Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024

The judge held a trial earlier this month to determine how much in profits BNSF made through trespassing from 2012 to 2021 and how much it should be required to disgorge. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 18 June 2024

Local news outlets say A.I. operations like BNN are leeches: stealing intellectual property by disgorging journalists’ work, then monetizing the theft by gaming search algorithms to raise their profile among advertisers. —Tiffany Hsu, New York Times, 6 June 2024

News commentators were fervent on the subject of insider trading; editorials in the Times were thunderous; the SEC ordered one arbitrageur to disgorge $50 million in fines, and another pleaded guilty to felony charges. —Emily Harnett, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French desgorger, from des- dis- + gorge gorge

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

disgorge

verb

dis·​gorge (ˈ)dis-ˈgȯ(ə)rj 

1

: vomit entry 2 sense 1

2

: to cause to come out violently or forcefully

the volcano disgorged lava

Legal Definition

disgorge

transitive verb

dis·​gorge dis-ˈgȯrj 

disgorged; disgorging

: to give up (as illegally gained profits) on request, under pressure, or by court order especially to prevent unjust enrichment

ordered a…salesman to disgorge about $468,000 he had earned by defrauding Iowa banks

—National Law Journal

disgorgement noun