eat out
Britishverb
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Have a meal outside one's home, usually at a restaurant. For example, We're almost out of groceries, so let's eat out tonight . [Second half of 1900s] For the antonym, see eat in .
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eat someone out Also, eat someone up . Rebuke or scold someone sharply, as in He was always eating out the kids , or Why are you eating me up? I haven't done anything wrong . This slangy synonym for chew out probably originated as a euphemism for eat someone's ass out . It dates from the 1940s, the variant from the 1840s. Also see the subsequent entries beginning with eat out .
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.
They eat out less and closely watch their electricity and water use.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
We were a family that didn’t eat out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
"I used to eat out at a restaurant once a week maybe, I don't do that any more."
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026
We could own a car, ignore senior discounts because “they’re too much trouble,” eat out frequently at overpriced restaurants catering to expats, and load up on expensive imported food and alcohol at the grocery store.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 2, 2026
“No plates are out. The Maginot Line didn’t eat out of one of Mama’s plates. Besides, Mama would just fuss all day if we told her.”
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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.
