eat out

verb

1. (intr, adverb) to eat away from home, esp in a restaurant

Idioms and Phrases

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 .

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

Charlotte says this can make eating out quite hard.

From BBC

Before eating out, the public can check out food hygiene ratings on the FSA website.

From BBC

The parents of a teenage girl who died in Morocco from an allergic reaction have urged others to be extra cautious eating out while on holiday.

From BBC

She hypothesized that the issue was compounded by the fact that many people were not going in to work, meaning they didn’t have disposable income to eat out.

From Los Angeles Times

The minimum standard is calculated to include money for a couple's weekly groceries, a week's holiday in the UK, eating out about once a month and some affordable leisure activities about twice a week.

From BBC

Related Words

• castigate 
• chide 
• rebuke 
• reprimand 
• reproach 
• revile 
• scold 
• upbraid