Phrase guide

Montezuma's revenge

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌmɒn.təˈzuː.məz ɹɪˈvɛndʒ/
  • General-American: /ˌmɔ.ɾ̃əˈzu.məz ɹəˈvɛndʒ/
  • General-American: /- ɹɪˈvɛndʒ/
  • General-American: /- ɹiˈvɛndʒ/
  • General-American: [ˌmɔ.nəˈzu.məz -]
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Diarrhea experienced by tourists after drinking water or eating food in Mexico as a result of a microorganism to which native Mexicans are immune.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: euphemistic, humorous, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Aztec two-step

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: traveler's diarrhea

2

noun

Meaning 2

diarrhea contracted in Mexico or Central America

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: diarrhea, diarrhoea, looseness of the bowels, looseness

History

Etymology

Named for Montezuma or Moctezuma II (c. 1466 – 1520), the last Aztec ruler before the empire was conquered by the Spanish. The condition is seen as “retribution” for the massacres and enslavement of the Aztec people by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés on August 13, 1521.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: Montezuman kosto — diarrhea experienced by a tourist in Mexico
  • Galician: a vinganza de Moctezuma — diarrhea experienced by a tourist in Mexico
  • Polish: zemsta Montezumy — diarrhea experienced by a tourist in Mexico
  • Spanish: venganza de Moctezuma — diarrhea experienced by a tourist in Mexico