eat
verb (used with object)
to take into the mouth and swallow for nourishment; chew and swallow (food).
eat
American
[eet]
/ it /
verb (used with object)
-
eats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ate,
past
-
eat,
past (Archaic)
-
eaten,
past participle
-
eating
present participle
-
to take into the mouth and swallow for nourishment; chew and swallow (food).
-
to consume by or as if by devouring gradually; wear away; corrode.
The patient was eaten by disease and pain.
-
to make (a hole, passage, etc.), as by gnawing or corrosion.
-
to ravage or devastate.
a forest eaten by fire.
-
to use up, especially wastefully; consume (often followed byup ).
Unexpected expenses have been eating up their savings.
-
to absorb or pay for.
The builder had to eat the cost of the repairs.
-
Slang: Vulgar. to perform cunnilingus or fellatio on.
verb (used without object)
-
eats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ate,
past
-
eat,
past (Archaic)
-
eaten,
past participle
-
eating
present participle
-
to consume food; take a meal.
We'll eat at six o'clock.
-
to make a way, as by gnawing or corrosion.
Acid ate through the linoleum.
noun
verb phrase
-
eat away / into to destroy gradually, as by erosion.
For eons, the pounding waves ate away at the shoreline.
-
eat up
-
to consume wholly.
-
to show enthusiasm for; take pleasure in.
The audience ate up everything he said.
-
to believe without question.
-
-
eat out to have a meal at a restaurant rather than at home.
idioms
-
be eating someone, to worry, annoy, or bother.
Something seems to be eating him—he's been wearing a frown all day.
-
eat one's words. word.
-
eat one's heart out. heart.
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eat someone's lunch, to thoroughly defeat, outdo, injure, etc.
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eat in, to eat or dine at home.
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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.
-
eat one's terms. term.
-
eat crow. crow.
-
eat the wind out of, to blanket (a sailing vessel sailing close-hauled) by sailing close on the weather side of.
-
eat humble pie. humble pie.
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eat out of one's hand. hand.
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eat clean. clean.
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eat high off the hog. hog.
eat
1
British
/ iːt /
verb
-
to take into the mouth and swallow (food, etc), esp after biting and chewing
-
(tr; often foll by away or up) to destroy as if by eating
the damp had eaten away the woodwork
-
(often foll by into) to use up or waste
taxes ate into his inheritance
-
to make (a hole, passage, etc) by eating or gnawing
rats ate through the floor
-
to take or have (a meal or meals)
we always eat at six
-
(tr) to include as part of one's diet
he doesn't eat fish
-
informal (tr) to cause to worry; make anxious
what's eating you?
-
slang (tr) to perform cunnilingus or fellatio upon
-
informal I will be greatly surprised if (something happens that proves me wrong)
-
to brood or pine with grief or longing
-
to take back something said; recant; retract
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to be entirely obedient to someone
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to ruin someone, esp one's parent or one's host, by consuming all his food
EAT
2
British
abbreviation
eat
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
eatsimple
-
eatssimple
-
have eatenperfect
-
has eatenperfect
-
am eatingprogressive
-
are eatingprogressive
-
is eatingprogressive
-
have been eatingperfect progressive
-
has been eatingperfect progressive
Past
-
atesimple
-
eatsimple
-
had eatenperfect
-
was eatingprogressive
-
were eatingprogressive
-
had been eatingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing eat
3-letter words, List 1
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3-letter words, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
"There's only so much that the end consumer is willing to eat," he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
"We've got 50 minutes to eat at lunchtime but there are 2,000 of us that need to get through the canteen."
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
The kids age normally, can eat food and drink blood, and have inherited some of their dad’s special powers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Wild lions don't eat at the same time every day. They experience natural periods of feasting and fasting depending on hunting success," Hryhorenko said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
Because if she was hungry, she really ought to eat.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Brinker EAT -3.72%decrease; red down pointing triangle International reported higher fiscal third-quarter profit as its Chili’s chain continued to draw customers seeking affordability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
This fall, EAT will once again present their biannual new works series, to include dozens of new plays, musicals, dance pieces and cabaret performances.
From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2022
Since the beginning of pandemic, Pret has closed 39 shops in the UK, as well as 33 EAT outlets, which it also owns.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2021
Yup, nine lines of it, including DO NOT EAT.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 12, 2018
The café is in a little white building with a sign in front that says EAT.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
The entire offensive line eats together at lunch in the cafeteria.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Sofiyka eats her semolina from a green bowl shaped like a frog.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Kurihara says he eats eel to prepare for contests and secured his place on the Japan team at just 10 years old.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The resemblance might have ended there, except Kennedy recently told an interviewer that he eats beef twice a day, generally grass-fed strip steak.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
All is peaceful until Papa eats his last bite.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Researchers recorded what patients ate at every meal and collected microbiome samples each day.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
"We really went all out. Then we flew around in a circle, talked with the family, ate good food," Klopp said.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
With about two minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Lions then reeled off a 23-play drive, which included four JSerra penalties and ate up more than 10 minutes off the clock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
At the Sunday reception, the couple had their first dance, with Bettina Trump wearing her wedding dress, and ate a five-tier wedding cake topped with a miniature bride and groom.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
I ate the last of my ice cream and lay down by the fire.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
Adjusting the order in which foods are eaten is relatively simple and may be easier to maintain than diets that require avoiding particular food groups.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Another source I spoke to was "eaten alive by anxiety" over the investigation and baffled that Germany, a close ally of Ukraine, was even pursuing prosecution.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
The feed industry has emphasized that it is decreasing its reliance on fishmeal and fish oil — and especially the use of whole fish or fish parts that can be eaten by people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Ube was a staple of Philippine gardens as long as 5,000 years ago, boiled and eaten by families as a substitute to rice when their provisions ran out.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
“They’re sleeping now. After they had eaten all they could hold, they crawled down in the straw and went to sleep.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Keeping blood sugar from rising too high after eating is an important part of diabetes management.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Despite the new protections, mounting overhead costs are eating into gig workers’ earnings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Carson was sipping tea and eating crackers at her seaside home in Iceland — she also resides in Ann Arbor, Mich., where she teaches — after she got the big news.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
In a statement on Thursday, Pike's lawyers described her recovery as "remarkable" and said she is able to walk with assistance and is eating.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
He could retrieve years’ worth of memories of eating it—making it, he came up blank.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
