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.
Higher prices are making people eat out less, especially younger and lower-income customers.
From Barron's • Feb. 3, 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
They eat out less when they are anxious about their jobs.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 25, 2025
Restaurant chains are challenged as consumers eat out less.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
Assuming her mom planned on sleeping through the rest of the week’s dinners, she and Lauren could eat out at least four more times.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
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.
