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 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
Instead, they’re shopping at grocery and convenience stores—and when they do eat out, they’re focused on value, notes Nick Setyan, an analyst at Mizuho who initiated coverage of the sector on Monday.
From Barron's • Oct. 29, 2025
"We are quite content to just live a quiet life, eat out now and again, and we've got everything we need."
From BBC • Feb. 12, 2025
Chipmunks are very tame, and it’s common to have them eat out of your hand.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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.
