devour
Americanverb (used with object)
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to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.
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to consume destructively, recklessly, or wantonly.
Fire devoured the old museum.
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to engulf or swallow up.
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to take in greedily with the senses or intellect.
to devour the works of Freud.
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to absorb or engross wholly.
a mind devoured by fears.
verb
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to swallow or eat up greedily or voraciously
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to waste or destroy; consume
the flames devoured the curtains
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to consume greedily or avidly with the senses or mind
he devoured the manuscripts
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to engulf or absorb
the flood devoured the land
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of devour
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”
Explanation
When you've gone all day without eating anything, you'll probably devour your dinner, especially if it's your very favorite homemade lasagna. Devour means to eat greedily and hungrily. The meaning of devour has grown to include the consumption of things other than food. If you sit down to start a book and look up ten hours later having turned the last page, you have devoured that book. If your after school job devours all your free time, chances are your grades are going to drop. The Latin root, devorare, means "to swallow down."
Vocabulary lists containing devour
Eat Your Words
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 7–11
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fans could sip on BTS chocolate lattes or devour BTS kimchi-and-beef burritos.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
Postsurgery, she began to devour several novels a week—but only about romance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
Tech is having a tough week, with fresh fears AI is going to devour software and now Alphabet’s eye-popping capital spending plans to absorb.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026
When I see my girlfriend devour books faster than the popcorn she keeps within arm’s reach, I feel guilty — and envious.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2026
Later, when Pamela and I retreated to the garden to devour the candy, she asked why I hadn’t done what Mandy wanted straight off.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
