Akademik

n.

A person who competes in eating contests.

And when it was over, there was greatness: The winner was tiny, 98-pound Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, who broke her old world's record and set a new one by scarfing 46 crab cakes in 10 minutes. ...

Maybe you've heard of Thomas, who is 38, manages a Burger King at Andrews Air Force Base and is the darling — and No.1-ranked American "gurgitator" — of something called the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) tour.

— Kevin Cowherd, "It's no gag when the Black Widow sits down to eat," Baltimore Sun, May 2, 2006

One of the nice things about having dinner with Pat Bertoletti: You never have to feel as if you've overeaten, even if you make a complete pig of yourself. He's the nation's fourth-ranked competitive eater according to the International Federation of Competitive Eating (ifoce.com), which regulates and promotes the growing sport and last year doled out about $247,000 in prize money nationwide to top "gorgers," "masticators" and "gurgitators," to use eating circuit lingo.

— "Big-time eater," Chicago Tribune, May 24, 2006

George Shea is president of the International Federation of Competitive Eaters, a Manhattan-based organization that sanctions events and tracks nearly 100 active ''gurgitators'' on the circuit. ''Long Island is a hotbed of eating,'' he said when asked why so many Long Islanders are world-ranked gluttons.

— Marcelle S. Fischler, "Champion Overeaters, and Proud of It," The New York Times, January 27, 2002

This word is a trademark of the International Federation of Competitive Eating: http://www.ifoce.com/, and the trademark description lists a first use of December 13, 2001.