Binge Was a Dialect Word for Soaking a Barrel
A binge is a bout of excess. The word came from an English dialect verb meaning to soak a wooden vessel until it stopped leaking.
A binge is a short period of excess, usually of drinking, eating or watching. The word is Lincolnshire dialect: to *binge* a wooden vessel was to soak it in water so the timbers swelled and the leaks closed. A person who soaked themselves in drink was doing the same thing. *Binge-watch* arrived in 2013, when streaming services began releasing whole series at once.
- A bout of excess. *A drinking binge.*
- To do something to excess. *They binged on box sets.*
- Binge-watch — to watch many episodes at once. *We binge-watched all nine.*
- Binge eating — a recognised disorder. *Binge eating disorder.*
- Bender — a similar informal word. *A weekend bender.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | binge | A three-day binge. |
| Verb | binge | Binge on snacks. |
| Continuous | bingeing | Also binging. |
| Compound | binge-watch | Binge-watch a series. |
| Dialect sense | binge | To soak a barrel. |
- The report examines binge drinking among students.Public health.
- We binge-watched the whole season.A 2013 coinage.
- To binge a cask was to swell its timbers.The original dialect sense.
Words the streaming era produced
- Binge-watch — chosen as a word of the year in 2015
- Spoiler alert — older, but transformed by release patterns
- Doomscroll — 2020, a related compulsive behaviour
- Second screen — watching while using a phone
- Drop — releasing a whole series at once
English dialect *binge*, to soak a wooden vessel, recorded in Lincolnshire. The drinking sense appears in the 1850s as university slang and generalised from there.
Is it bingeing or binging?
Both appear. Bingeing is more common in British English and keeps the soft g clear.
When was binge-watch coined?
It spread in 2013 as streaming services released full series at once, and was named a word of the year in 2015.