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

See Examples For:

eat up

But smaller companies who need fresh financing to keep expanding that extra interest can eat up cash flow, force spending cuts, delay hiring or eventually make refinancing impossible.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

Mortgage principal and interest costs now eat up 27% of household income, compared with 17% a decade ago.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

I worry about a scenario in which we end up running to stay in place as repair bills eat up ever more of our wealth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

The logical thought: The Dodgers had found a healthy arm to eat up some innings until they could find someone better.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

Rabbits were suddenly dying from a rabbit disease that seemed to eat up their insides.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

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