eat

American  

[eet] / it /

verb (used with object)

ate, eat, eaten, eat, eating

1. to take into the mouth and swallow for nourishment; chew and swallow (food).

2. to consume by or as if by devouring gradually; wear away; corrode.

   The patient was eaten by disease and pain.

3. to make (a hole, passage, etc.), as by gnawing or corrosion.

4. to ravage or devastate.

   a forest eaten by fire.

5. to use up, especially wastefully; consume (often followed byup ).

   Unexpected expenses have been eating up their savings.

6. to absorb or pay for.

   The builder had to eat the cost of the repairs.

7. Slang: Vulgar. to perform cunnilingus or fellatio on.

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verb (used without object)

ate, eat, eaten, eat, eating

1. to consume food; take a meal.

   We'll eat at six o'clock.

2. to make a way, as by gnawing or corrosion.

   Acid ate through the linoleum.

noun

1. Informal. eats, food.

verb phrase

1. eat away / into to destroy gradually, as by erosion.

   For eons, the pounding waves ate away at the shoreline.

2. eat up

   1. to consume wholly.

   2. to show enthusiasm for; take pleasure in.

      The audience ate up everything he said.

   3. to believe without question.

3. eat out to have a meal at a restaurant rather than at home.

idioms

1. be eating someone, to worry, annoy, or bother.

   Something seems to be eating him—he's been wearing a frown all day.

2. eat one's words. word.

3. eat one's heart out. heart.

4. eat someone's lunch, to thoroughly defeat, outdo, injure, etc.

5. eat in, to eat or dine at home.

6. eat someone out of house and home, to eat so much as to strain someone's resources of food or money.

   A group of hungry teenagers can eat you out of house and home.

7. eat one's terms. term.

8. eat crow. crow.

9. eat the wind out of, to blanket (a sailing vessel sailing close-hauled) by sailing close on the weather side of.

10. eat humble pie. humble pie.

11. eat out of one's hand. hand.

12. eat clean. clean.

13. eat high off the hog. hog.

eat ¹ British  

/ iːt /

verb

1. to take into the mouth and swallow (food, etc), esp after biting and chewing

2. (tr; often foll by away or up) to destroy as if by eating

   the damp had eaten away the woodwork

3. (often foll by into) to use up or waste

   taxes ate into his inheritance

4. to make (a hole, passage, etc) by eating or gnawing

   rats ate through the floor

5. to take or have (a meal or meals)

   we always eat at six

6. (tr) to include as part of one's diet

   he doesn't eat fish

7. informal (tr) to cause to worry; make anxious

   what's eating you?

8. slang (tr) to perform cunnilingus or fellatio upon

9. informal I will be greatly surprised if (something happens that proves me wrong)

10. to brood or pine with grief or longing

11. to take back something said; recant; retract

12. to be entirely obedient to someone

13. to ruin someone, esp one's parent or one's host, by consuming all his food

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EAT ² British  

abbreviation

1. Tanzania (international car registration)

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eat More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing eat

• dog eat dog
• proof of the pudding is in the eating
• what's eating you

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Other Word Forms

• eater noun
• outeat verb (used with object)
• undereat verb (used without object)

Etymology

Origin of eat

First recorded before 900; Middle English eten, Old English etan; cognate with German essen, Gothic itan, Latin edere, esse, Homeric Greek édein

Explanation

If you leave an antique flowerpot outside all winter, the snow and rain might eat the paint, making it look even older than it is. You probably know that eat means "to consume food," because you do that several times a day. But we also use the verb eat for other situations involving using something up or wearing it down. If your art project eats up all your art supplies, that means you don't have any left. Leaving your car lights on will eat through your battery. Something eating away at us is worrying us. Don't let money stress eat away at your happiness.

Example Sentences

In a hyper-modern environment like the internet, so eager to eat itself alive in the pursuit of newness, “The End of Oak Street” fandom is delightfully prehistoric.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026

Higher energy costs could further eat into profit margins if customers aren’t willing to spend more.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

They can eat a quarter of their body weight in vegetation, burrow destructively and ravage waterways and ecosystems.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

"I'm not retiring again until after the fight. My priority at the moment is to beat this guy and eat the Easter eggs I've got in the fridge."

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

I eat a few more bites of my bagel.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

• attack
• bite
• chew
• devour
• dine
• feed
• ingest
• inhale
• nibble
• pick
• swallow