eat out

British  

verb

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

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eat out Idioms  

1. 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 .

2. 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 .

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Example Sentences

Cava doesn’t discount, and it has no plans to even as some diners pull back on eating out.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sarah Duggal, a development coordinator in Plymouth, Minn., is equally intent on optimizing every bit of food on the plate when she eats out—which, like many Americans, is less often these days.

From The Wall Street Journal

They eat out less when they are anxious about their jobs.

From MarketWatch

Or maybe she would prefer fun road trips every couple of months or eating out more in lieu of a big annual overseas vacation.

From MarketWatch

Domino’s Pizza hopes its first rebrand in 13 years will help it sell more pizzas, wings and cheesy bread as Americans pull back on eating out.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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