eat up

British  

verb

1. (also intr) to eat or consume entirely: often used as an exhortation to children

2. informal to listen to with enthusiasm or appreciation

   the audience ate up the speaker's every word

3. informal (often passive) to affect grossly

   she was eaten up by jealousy

4. informal to travel (a distance) quickly

   we just ate up the miles

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eat up Idioms  

1. Consume completely, as in No television until you eat up your dinner , or This quarter's expenses have eaten up all my spare cash . The literal use (first example) dates from the early 1500s, the figurative from the early 1600s.

2. Enjoy avidly, as in She simply eats up the publicity . [Late 1800s]

3. Believe unquestioningly, be gullible, as in He'll eat up whatever the broker tells him . [ Slang ; early 1900s]

4. Defeat completely, as in This new fighter just eats up every opponent . [ Slang ; c. 1830]

5. See eat out , def. 2.

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Example Sentences

The dividend’s full-year cost of $2.84 a share looks solid, on pace to eat up only about 58% of Verizon’s estimated $4.89 in 2026 profits.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

“Higher costs of energy will completely eat up that additional refund,” she said.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 14, 2026

And housing costs eat up more than a third of household spending.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

In previous research, Dr Luccioni has shown that such technologies eat up lots of energy.

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025

"Go put on some fresh clothes. I'll cook up some rice. We can eat up here, beside Belet."

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Related Words

• swallow