bulimia

UK: /buːˈlɪmiə/

US: /bjuˈlɪmiə, -ˈlimiə, bu-/

US: (byo̅o̅ lim′ē ə, -lē′mē ə, bo̅o̅-, bə-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bu•lim•i•a /byuˈlɪmiə, -ˈlimiə, bu-/   n. [uncountable]

1. Psychiatry a disturbance in eating habits marked by repeated instances of overeating followed by intentional vomiting or fasting.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bu•lim•i•a  (byo̅o̅ lim′ē ə, -lē′mē ə, bo̅o̅-, bə-), n. 

1. Pathology Also called hyperphagia. abnormally voracious appetite or unnaturally constant hunger.

Also called binge-purge syndrome, bulim′ia ner•vo′sa  (nûr vō′sə). [Psychiatry.] a habitual disturbance in eating behavior mostly affecting young women of normal weight, characterized by frequent episodes of grossly excessive food intake followed by self-induced vomiting to avert weight gain. Cf. anorexia nervosa.Also, boulimia. 

• Greek boulīmía extreme hunger, equivalent. to bou- intensive prefix (derivative of bou-, stem of boûs ox) + līm(ós) hunger + -ia -ia
• Neo-Latin
• Middle English 1350–1400

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bulimia / bjuːˈlɪmɪə/ noun

1. pathologically insatiable hunger, esp when caused by a brain lesion
2. Also called: bulimia nervosa a mental health condition characterized by a compulsion to purge oneself of the food one has consumed, sometimes after a period of binge eating

Etymology: 17th Century: from New Latin, from Greek boulimia, from bous ox + limos hunger