eat
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.
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.
eats, Informal. food.
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.
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. 17).
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
1Other words from eat
- eater, noun
- outeat, 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
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 PostHannah 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 | EaterGet 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 PostSprinkled among the family-friendly eats are dishes that hark to Hill’s fine dining days at Charlie Palmer Steak and the late Range.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTStill, 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 | THE DAILY BEASTTribole tells her patients not to change what they eat but how.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTI 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 | THE DAILY BEASTYou see Squinty, like most little pigs, thought more of something to eat than of anything else.
Squinty the Comical Pig | Richard BarnumJean clung to his English nurse, who played the fascinating game of pretending to eat his hand.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeI 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. WilliamsonMany of his bird neighbors,p. 31 for instance, liked the same things to eat that he did.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott BaileyThat 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)
/ (iːt) /
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
(often foll by into or through) 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
(tr) informal to cause to worry; make anxious: what'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
Origin of eat
1Derived forms of eat
- eater, noun
British Dictionary definitions for EAT (2 of 2)
Tanzania (international car registration)
Origin of EAT
2Collins 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
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
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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