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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use eat in a sentence
For older women it’s more like, ‘I know that Fox News is going to eat away at her.
Hillary Clinton Supporters Are Divided Over Her Potential 2016 Run | David Freedlander | June 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOlbermann feared the Tea Party would eat away at the Earth's core.
5 Best Moments from MSNBC's Apocalyptic Night | The Daily Beast Video | November 3, 2010 | THE DAILY BEASTHow can this moral choke-damp, with all its fatal incrustations, fail to eat away the supports and very framework of the dwelling.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian SharmanThe mortgage debt and taxes, like omniverous caterpillars, began to eat away at its four corners at one and the same time.
The Broken Sword | Dennison WorthingtonCertain larv, such as those of the cockchafer, eat away the roots of vegetables, and so destroy the harvests.
The Insect World | Louis Figuier
"eat away," said Stingaree, seating himself and producing pipe and tobacco.
Stingaree | E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung"Suppose you stay and have dessert with us," suggested Mrs. Martin, well knowing how children like to eat away from home.
The Curlytops and Their Playmates | Howard R. Garis
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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