devour

[dih-vou-uh r, -vou-er]

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verb (used with object)

to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.

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

to engulf or swallow up.

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

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

Origin of devour

1275–1325; Middle English devouren < Anglo-French, Old French devourer < Latin dēvorāre to swallow down, equivalent to dē- de- + vorāre to eat up

Related formsde·vour·er, nounde·vour·ing·ly, adverbde·vour·ing·ness, nounin·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, adjectiveun·de·voured, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for devour

inhale, exhaust, absorb, ravage, ingest, gobble, destroy, eat, enjoy, annihilate, imbibe, appreciate, dispatch, spend, gulp, stuff, wolf, bolt, cram, guzzle

Examples from the Web for devour

Contemporary Examples of devour

The critters have the propensity to devour their babies if alarmed and so require a calm environment for breeding.
Whole Foods Wants to Feed You Cute, Furry Bunnies
Tim Mak
August 19, 2014
Before he knew it, he had more animals on his hands than his snakes could devour.
The Weird Underground World of Urban Animal Husbandry
Dale Eisinger
May 19, 2014
Or, some of us (many of us), devour 14 in a row with breaks just for bathroom and answering the door for the delivery man.
Why We Binge-Watch Television
Kevin Fallon
January 8, 2014
I am more determined than ever to get into Gaza just so I can sit on the beach and devour this Bedouin feast with my hands.
Watching Anthony Bourdain in Palestine
Maysoon Zayid
September 19, 2013
You get the sense that they want to eat each other, to devour each other.
The Stars of ‘Blue is the Warmest Color’ On the Riveting Lesbian Love Story
Marlow Stern
September 1, 2013

Historical Examples of devour

The maddened flames leaped and crackled as if to devour him.
Opera Stories from Wagner
Florence Akin
In this region there are whole nations of cannibals, who devour their captives.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II
Francis Augustus Cox
Beneath his wheedling air there was the determination to devour everything.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
Eager, hungry breath it was, like that of hounds seeking to devour him.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
The wolf, that runs away from a lion, will devour a lamb the next moment.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for devour

devour

verb (tr)

to swallow or eat up greedily or voraciously

to waste or destroy; consumethe flames devoured the curtains

to consume greedily or avidly with the senses or mindhe devoured the manuscripts

to engulf or absorbthe flood devoured the land

Derived Formsdevourer, noundevouring, adjectivedevouringly, adverb

Word Origin for devour

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

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

Word Origin and History for devour

early 14c., from Old French devorer (12c.) "devour, swallow up, engulf," from Latin devorare "swallow down, accept eagerly," from de- "down" (see de-) + vorare "to swallow" (see voracity). Related: Devoured; devouring.