eat

[ eet ]

/ it /

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See synonyms for: eat / ate / eaten / eating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), ate

[eyt; especially British et] /eɪt; especially British ɛt/ or (Archaic) eat

[et, eet]; /ɛt, it/; eat·en or (Archaic) eat

[et, eet]; /ɛt, it/; eat·ing.

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 by up): 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), ate

[eyt; especially British et] /eɪt; especially British ɛt/ or (Archaic) eat

[et, eet]; /ɛt, it/; eat·en or (Archaic) eat

[et, eet]; /ɛt, it/; eat·ing.

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

eats, Informal. food.

Verb Phrases

eat away / into to destroy gradually, as by erosion: For eons, the pounding waves ate away at the shoreline.

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

eat up,

to consume wholly.
to show enthusiasm for; take pleasure in: The audience ate up everything he said.
to believe without question.

QUIZ

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Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

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Idioms about eat

be eating someone, Informal. to worry, annoy, or bother: Something seems to be eating him—he's been wearing a frown all day.

eat clean. clean (def. 50).

eat crow. crow¹ (def. 7).

eat high off the hog. hog (def. 16).

eat humble pie. humble pie (def. 3).

eat in, to eat or dine at home.

eat one's heart out. heart (def. 26).

eat one's terms. term (def. 17).

eat one's words. word (def. 16).

eat out of one's hand. hand (def. 50).

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

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

Origin of eat

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

OTHER WORDS FROM eat

eater, nounouteat, verb (used with object), out·ate, out·eat·en, out·eat·ing.un·der·eat, verb (used without object), un·der·ate, un·der·eat·en, un·der·eat·ing.

Words nearby eat

easy-money policy, easy on the eyes, easy sledding, easy street, easy street, on, eat, eatable, eatables, eatage, eat and run, eat away at

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use eat in a sentence

The Eat Voraciously newsletter tells you what to eat for dinner four nights a week, along with ideas for substitutions based on your preferences and what you have in your pantry.
In a cooking rut? Here are 5 ways to reclaim your joy.|Aaron Hutcherson|August 5, 2022|Washington Post
Hannah Bae is one-half of Eat Drink Draw, a food writing-and-illustration collaboration with her husband, Adam Oelsner.
When You Can’t Get Lost in Seoul Nightlife, ‘Love in the Big City’ Is the Next Best Thing|Hannah Bae|December 9, 2021|Eater
Get the Eat Voraciously recipe newsletter and solve the daily dinner dilemmaPrime Rib Roast With Roasted Beef Fat Vinaigrette.
Pot roast, spiral-sliced ham, duck confit, lamb and more non-turkey Thanksgiving mains|Aaron Hutcherson|November 18, 2021|Washington Post
Sprinkled among the family-friendly eats are dishes that hark to Hill’s fine dining days at Charlie Palmer Steak and the late Range.
2021 Fall Dining Guide|Tom Sietsema|October 6, 2021|Washington Post

It’s nestled between a handful of other quick eats, bars and restaurants.
Outdoor dining reopened restaurants for all — but added to barriers for disabled|Brittany Mayes, Maria del Carmen Aguilar Velez|July 13, 2021|Washington Post
Two Indonesian airlines, Garuda and Lion Air, have seen Fernandes eat their lunch and are only now responding.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501|Clive Irving|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Still, I wish that DuVernay had given us more about those who are less famous besides a scene where they all eat dinner together.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’|Gary May|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Tribole tells her patients not to change what they eat but how.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, his new book “The Bulletproof Diet,” claims to offer a weight loss solution that lets you have your butter, and eat it too.
Bulletproof Coffee and the Case for Butter as a Health Food|DailyBurn|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I try to eat less processed food, like whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nothing over-processed.
Anastasia Ashley, Surfer-Cum-Model, Rides The Viral Internet Wave|James Joiner|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You see Squinty, like most little pigs, thought more of something to eat than of anything else.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
Jean clung to his English nurse, who played the fascinating game of pretending to eat his hand.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
I mean it is well my mother is ill, and doesn't wish to eat, for there would be nothing for her, if she did.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
Many of his bird neighbors,p. 31 for instance, liked the same things to eat that he did.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
That was because he was hungry, you see, but pigs nearly always eat fast, as though they were continually in a hurry.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum

British Dictionary definitions for eat (1 of 2)

eat

/ (iːt) /

verb eats, eating, ate or eaten

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 eatingthe damp had eaten away the woodwork

(often foll by into) to use up or wastetaxes ate into his inheritance

(often foll by into or through) to make (a hole, passage, etc) by eating or gnawingrats 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 diethe doesn't eat fish

(tr) informal to cause to worry; make anxiouswhat's eating you?

(tr) slang to perform cunnilingus or fellatio upon

I'll eat my hat if informal I will be greatly surprised if (something happens that proves me wrong)

eat one's heart out to brood or pine with grief or longing

eat one's words to take back something said; recant; retract

eat out of someone's hand to be entirely obedient to someone

eat someone out of house and home to ruin someone, esp one's parent or one's host, by consuming all his food

Derived forms of eat

eater, noun

Word Origin for eat

Old English etan; related to Gothic itan, Old High German ezzan, Latin edere, Greek edein, Sanskrit admi

British Dictionary definitions for eat (2 of 2)

EAT

EAZ

abbreviation for

Tanzania (international car registration)

Word Origin for EAT

from E(ast) A(frica) T(anganyika) or E(ast) A(frica) Z(anzibar)

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with eat

eat

In addition to the idioms beginning with eat

eat and run
eat away at
eat crow
eat high off the hog
eat in
eat like a bird
eat one's cake and have it, too
eat one's hat
eat one's heart out
eat one's words
eat out
eat out of someone's hand
eat shit
eat someone alive
eat someone out
eat someone out of house and home
eat someone's ass out
eat someone's lunch
eat someone up
eat up

also see:

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