ENGLISH
REFERENCE

binge

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈbɪndʒ// UK //bˈɪndʒ// binge

n. a short period of time when you do too much of one thing, like eating or watching TV. It usually feels like you cannot stop yourself.

n. an episode of excessive indulgence in an activity, especially eating, drinking, or consuming media. Often used to describe a loss of self-control over a brief duration.


SIMPLE

I went on a movie binge and watched the whole series in one day.

CONTEXTUAL

After weeks of strict dieting, he went on a weekend chocolate binge that left him feeling quite sick.

COMPLEX

The rise of streaming platforms has normalised the weekend binge, where viewers consume an entire season of a show in a single sitting rather than waiting for weekly releases.

Synonyms
Origin

From Leicestershire and Northamptonshire dialect, binge (“to drink deeply", also "to soak, steep, drench", specifically "to swell a leaky wooden vessel by filling it with or plunging it into water”), of unknown origin. Compare dialectal English beene and beam (“to cure leakage in a tub or barrel by soaking, thereby causing the wood to swell”).

Usage

Commonly used with the verb 'go on' or 'have'.

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