Meanings
gorp1
plural gorps · alternative GORP
- uncountableusuallyA loose mixture of dried fruit, nuts, frequently salt, and sometimes other ingredients; designed as an energy supplement for use while hiking, climbing, canoeing, etc.
“What if I need energy?” “Well, try some G.O.R.P.” “What's G.O.R.P.?” “It's a cereal that you eat with your hands.”
2014 February 11, Nick Kroll, “Krolling Around With Nick Clown” (8:03 from the start), in Kroll Show, season 2, episode 5, spoken by Gene Creemers (Jon Daly)5 more examples
Before you take off, pack food for picnics and snacks. Experienced biking adventurers usually fill a plastic bag with a quick-energy concoction called "gorp" (good-old-raisins-and-peanuts). Create your own gorp according to taste.
1974, Sue Ellin Browder, The American Biking Atlas & Touring Guide, Workman Pub. Co., →ISBN, page XXIIINuts are cheap. Per pound: peanuts, $1.50, pistachios, $1.80, hazelnuts, 75¢. Mix them with dried fruit and you have a scrumptious gorp.
1981, John Rakowski, Adventure Cycling in Europe […] , Rodale Press, →ISBN, page 280“They were living in their pajamas so as not to have too much laundry. They were eating gorp for their suppers.” “I'm not even going to ask what gorp is,” Sarah said, “It's a mixture of wheat germ and nuts and dried—”
1985, Anne Tyler, chapter 19, in The Accidental Tourist, Knopf, →ISBN, page 307i also take some cheese and hard salami and crackers which are normally not contained in gorp to give even more variety. variety is the key here, and a bag of gorp curtails this.....unless of course you wish to pack ten different varieties of gorp with you :^)
1996 September 24, Brian M. Parks, “gorp”, in rec.backcountry (Usenet)“Do you want some gorp? I have an extra bag.” Gorp was like gold by that point. Nobody had any left. She thought of the M&M's. Her mouth began to water, but she stayed strong.
2009, Ann Brashares, 3 Willows, Delacorte Press, →ISBN, page 236
GORP2
- uncountableAlternative letter-case form of gorp.
“What if I need energy?” “Well, try some G.O.R.P.” “What's G.O.R.P.?” “It's a cereal that you eat with your hands.”
2014 February 11, Nick Kroll, “Krolling Around With Nick Clown” (8:03 from the start), in Kroll Show, season 2, episode 5, spoken by Gene Creemers (Jon Daly)1 more example
You will also want to include a snack for hikes longer than a couple of miles. A bag full of GORP (good ol’ raisins and peanuts) will kick up your energy level fast.
2016, Diane Stresing, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Cleveland including Akron and Canton, 3rd edition, Menasha Ridge Press, →ISBN, page 7
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA loose mixture of dried fruit, nuts, frequently salt, and sometimes other ingredients; designed as an energy supplement for use while hiking, climbing, canoeing, etc.
Origin
The Oxford English Dictionary cites a 1913 reference to the verb gorp (“to eat greedily”). The occasionally theorized "good old raisins and peanuts" and "granola, oats, raisins, peanuts" are probably backronyms.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gorp
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
gorp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gorp
“gorp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gorp. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gorp,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gorp.
Source: gorp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.