orgy

/ˈɔrdʒi/

/ˈɔdʒi/

Other forms: orgies

If you have an orgy of presents or snacks or even new ideas, you have so many it's almost obscene. In this figurative use, orgy means an event where there is just too much of a good thing!

The word orgy comes from the Greek orgia meaning "secret rites" which referred to the secret rites of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and love-making. An orgy is a gathering of a number of people that involves sex and drinking. You can use the word orgy to refer to any intense, excessive activity. Before school starts in the fall, most kids get to go on an orgy of shopping for clothes and school supplies.

Definitions of orgy

1. noun

   a wild gathering
   synonyms: bacchanal, bacchanalia, debauch, debauchery, drunken revelry, riot, saturnalia

   type of:

   revel, revelry

   unrestrained merrymaking
2. noun

   any act of immoderate indulgence
   “an orgy of shopping”

   synonyms: binge, splurge

   type of:

   humoring, indulgence, indulging, pampering

   the act of indulging or gratifying a desire
3. noun

   secret rite in the cults of ancient Greek or Roman deities involving singing and dancing and drinking and sexual activity
   type of:

   religious rite, rite

   an established ceremony prescribed by a religion