Is "orgasm" a verb?

[DanDelaware]

An otherwise excellent fantasy story kept using "orgasm" as a verb and it bugged me every time. I like "cum" as a verb, or "come" if you want something less vulgar. You can write around it of course, replacing "she orgasmed her brains out" with "her orgasm was mind-shattering" but sometimes a good verb is needed.

 

[StillStunned]

It is. It isn't a very vivid or engaging one, though. The best way I can think of using it in an erotic scene would be something like "She wailed, her body shuddering and spasming as she orgasmed again and again."

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'd use orgasm over cum any day of the week, and don't get me started on cummed.

 

[KachinaDoll]

It's a noun and a verb though I find it's use as a verb to be pretty clumsy. Also, I prefer 'cum' to be semen, not an orgasm.

 

[annabellebrito]

You can also use "climaxed"

 

[vagrantx]

I'd use orgasm over cum any day of the week, and don't get me started on cummed.

Oof, completely agree. Some of the worst examples I've seen are using it as a noun (e.g. a cum instead of an orgasm) and the god awful "cute" version cummies. Eugh...

 

[SimonDoom]

It's a legitimate verb, according to Merriam-Webster. It offers this as an example of a sentence in which it is used that way:

According to research, the number of people with vaginas who orgasm during vaginal intercourse is low

I see nothing wrong it being used this way, but it's not my go-to in sex scenes. I'm probably more likely to write "reach orgasm" or "achieve orgasm" or use a synonym like "come" or "climax."

I'm with a few others here on "cum" as a verb. I don't use it that way. I use "come" as the verb but often use "cum" as a noun. I cannot abide "cummed." I write "came."

 

[TheLobster]

Everything can be verbed if you really want to but as a wise man once again, it weirds the language quite a bit.

 

[colddiesel]

Not exactly on subject but if an orgasm is 'verbed' it is more likely to be describing a female climax rather than that of a male. Seems to be no particular reason, just my observation.

 

[StillStunned]

Not exactly on subject but if an orgasm is 'verbed' it is more likely to be describing a female climax rather than that of a male. Seems to be no particular reason, just my observation.

Perhaps because it takes twice as long to say as the average male orgasm lasts. We just come.

 

[yowser]

The OED lists it as a verb, with the earliest usage in 1973. (Contrasted to the noun first appearing in 1671.) For the noun I liked the 1771 description (in a medical journal) as a 'spasm on the vitals.'

As a verb the OED says 'orgasm typically occurs about 0.1 times per million words in modern written English.' The Literotica corpus is likely anomalous in this respect.

 

[StillStunned]

The OED lists it as a verb, with the earliest usage in 1973. (Contrasted to the noun first appearing in 1671.) For the noun I liked the 1771 description (in a medical journal) as a 'spasm on the vitals.'

*Sigh* Time to edit my WIWAW...

As a verb the OED says 'orgasm typically occurs about 0.1 times per million words in modern written English.' The Literotica corpus is likely anomalous in this respect.

The Literotica corpus probably accounts for about half of the occurrences.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more

or·gasm
/ˈôrˌɡazəm/
noun

1. a climax of sexual excitement, characterized by feelings of pleasure centered in the genitals and (in men) experienced as an accompaniment to ejaculation.
   "she managed to achieve an orgasm"
   

verb

1. experience an orgasm.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I believe that orgasm is in fact officially a verb, however, even if it isn't, there is such a thing as verb license. You can use a verb that doesn't make literal sense in place of another in a poetic or metaphoric way to paint the picture of the scene.

He waltzed into the room.

We know that he didn't actually dance into the room, he merely made a grand and presumptuous entrance. The advantage to this is that we get the idea of his presumptuous entrance with very efficient wording.

Verb license also extends to non-verbs.

The scientific tester was willing to do or take anything and so had guinea-pigged his way into a fairly lucrative career.

Guinea pig is not a verb, but in this sentence it is, and it is perfectly fine grammar. So yes, "she orgasmed," is perfectly fine.

 

[12oclocktales]

Although slightly off topic, this sort of reminds me of the Lennie Bruce bit “To is a Preposition, Come is a Verb”:

To is a preposition.
To is a preposition.
Come is a verb.
To is a preposition.
Come is a verb.
To is a preposition.
Come is a verb, the verb intransitive.
To come.
To come.
I've heard these two words my whole adult life, and as a kid when I thought I was sleeping.
To come.
To come.
It's been like a big drum solo.
Did you come?
Did you come?
Good.
Did you come good?
Did you come good?
Did you come good?
[Etc., etc., etc. for many more lines]

At the end he says if you find any of this offensive, you probably can’t come.
Right on, as usual.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

I'd use orgasm over cum any day of the week, and don't get me started on cummed.

In one of my stories, a character who was journaling (and thus using written rather than spoken language) chose to write 'caym' as the past tense, thus continuing to use the same pronunciation.

Yes, 'journal' became a verb, as it has done quite a lot in the last few years. In advertising, just about any noun or adjective can get turned into a verb. Sometimes this makes me wince, but I remind myself that English is a living language, prone to innovation. That's how we English.

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

I have no problem using "orgasm" as a verb when I think the prose calls for it, but I generally prefer "cum" when it's for a man, it sounds so much dirtier. On the other hand, "come" is a motion verb, so if I see a story using it to refer to having an orgasm or ejaculation, I consider that to be a misspelling.

 

[OffNSFW]

Sidebar: I treat "come" as a verb and "cum" as a noun.

Also, any noun can be a verb, or vice versa, if you touch it right.

 

[MillieDynamite]

She shook and trembled in rapture.

 

[djrip]

Orgasm, noun - an orgasm.
Orgasm, verb - to cum.
Cum, noun - semen.
Cum, verb - to orgasm.
Came, verb - to have cum.
Cummed - no.
An orgasm - fine.
A cum - gtfo with that. Cum as a noun is semen, not an orgasm.
Cumming, coming - I'll allow either

 

[StillStunned]

Whatever word you choose, pay close attention to your partner's vocalisations. You want to make them cum laude.

 

[Carnevil9]

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less."

You can't argue with an authority like Humpty Dumpty.

 

[DanDelaware]

Not exactly on subject but if an orgasm is 'verbed' it is more likely to be describing a female climax rather than that of a male. Seems to be no particular reason, just my observation.

Percentage-wise, you're probably more likely to be reading about female orgasms. At least if they're doing it right.

 

[MyBareTorso]

I use it as a verb all the time...shit, I'm just about to orgasm right NOW!!!!

 

[Voboy]

This is English. There are very few rules.

Almost any noun can be verbed*. It just depends on how ambitious you are.





*see what I did there?