devour

[ dih-vou-uhr, -vou-er ]
See synonyms for: devourdevoureddevouring on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.

  2. to consume destructively, recklessly, or wantonly: Fire devoured the old museum.

  1. to engulf or swallow up.

  2. to take in greedily with the senses or intellect: to devour the works of Freud.

  3. to absorb or engross wholly: a mind devoured by fears.

Origin of devour

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English devouren, from Anglo-French, Old French devourer, from Latin dēvorāre “to swallow down,” from dē- de- + vorāre “to eat up”

Other words from devour

  • de·vour·er, noun
  • de·vour·ing·ly, adverb
  • de·vour·ing·ness, noun
  • in·ter·de·vour, verb (used with object)
  • pre·de·vour, verb (used with object)
  • re·de·vour, verb (used with object)
  • self-de·vour·ing, adjective
  • un·de·voured, adjective

Words Nearby devour

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use devour in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for devour

devour

/ (dɪˈvaʊə) /


verb(tr)
  1. to swallow or eat up greedily or voraciously

  2. to waste or destroy; consume: the flames devoured the curtains

  1. to consume greedily or avidly with the senses or mind: he devoured the manuscripts

  2. to engulf or absorb: the flood devoured the land

Origin of devour

1
C14: from Old French devourer, from Latin dēvorāre to gulp down, from de- + vorāre to consume greedily; see voracious

Derived forms of devour

  • devourer, noun
  • devouring, adjective
  • devouringly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012