eat
verb (used with object)
to take into the mouth and swallow for nourishment; chew and swallow (food).
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eat
American
[eet]
/ it /
verb (used with object)
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eats,
present (3rd person singular)
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ate,
past
-
eat,
past (Archaic)
-
eaten,
past participle
-
eating
present participle
-
to take into the mouth and swallow for nourishment; chew and swallow (food).
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to consume by or as if by devouring gradually; wear away; corrode.
The patient was eaten by disease and pain.
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to make (a hole, passage, etc.), as by gnawing or corrosion.
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to ravage or devastate.
a forest eaten by fire.
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to use up, especially wastefully; consume (often followed byup ).
Unexpected expenses have been eating up their savings.
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to absorb or pay for.
The builder had to eat the cost of the repairs.
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Slang: Vulgar. to perform cunnilingus or fellatio on.
verb (used without object)
-
eats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ate,
past
-
eat,
past (Archaic)
-
eaten,
past participle
-
eating
present participle
-
to consume food; take a meal.
We'll eat at six o'clock.
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to make a way, as by gnawing or corrosion.
Acid ate through the linoleum.
noun
verb phrase
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eat away / into to destroy gradually, as by erosion.
For eons, the pounding waves ate away at the shoreline.
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eat up
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to consume wholly.
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to show enthusiasm for; take pleasure in.
The audience ate up everything he said.
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to believe without question.
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eat out to have a meal at a restaurant rather than at home.
idioms
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be eating someone, to worry, annoy, or bother.
Something seems to be eating him—he's been wearing a frown all day.
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eat one's words. word.
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eat one's heart out. heart.
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eat someone's lunch, to thoroughly defeat, outdo, injure, etc.
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eat in, to eat or dine at home.
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eat someone out of house and home, to eat so much as to strain someone's resources of food or money.
A group of hungry teenagers can eat you out of house and home.
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eat one's terms. term.
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eat crow. crow.
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eat the wind out of, to blanket (a sailing vessel sailing close-hauled) by sailing close on the weather side of.
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eat humble pie. humble pie.
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eat out of one's hand. hand.
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eat clean. clean.
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eat high off the hog. hog.
eat
1
British
/ iːt /
verb
-
to take into the mouth and swallow (food, etc), esp after biting and chewing
-
(tr; often foll by away or up) to destroy as if by eating
the damp had eaten away the woodwork
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(often foll by into) to use up or waste
taxes ate into his inheritance
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to make (a hole, passage, etc) by eating or gnawing
rats ate through the floor
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to take or have (a meal or meals)
we always eat at six
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(tr) to include as part of one's diet
he doesn't eat fish
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informal (tr) to cause to worry; make anxious
what's eating you?
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slang (tr) to perform cunnilingus or fellatio upon
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informal I will be greatly surprised if (something happens that proves me wrong)
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to brood or pine with grief or longing
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to take back something said; recant; retract
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to be entirely obedient to someone
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to ruin someone, esp one's parent or one's host, by consuming all his food
EAT
2
British
abbreviation
eat
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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eatsimple
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eatssimple
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have eatenperfect
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has eatenperfect
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am eatingprogressive
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are eatingprogressive
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is eatingprogressive
-
have been eatingperfect progressive
-
has been eatingperfect progressive
Past
-
atesimple
-
eatsimple
-
had eatenperfect
-
was eatingprogressive
-
were eatingprogressive
-
had been eatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of eat
First recorded before 900; Middle English eten, Old English etan; cognate with German essen, Gothic itan, Latin edere, esse, Homeric Greek édein
Explanation
If you leave an antique flowerpot outside all winter, the snow and rain might eat the paint, making it look even older than it is. You probably know that eat means "to consume food," because you do that several times a day. But we also use the verb eat for other situations involving using something up or wearing it down. If your art project eats up all your art supplies, that means you don't have any left. Leaving your car lights on will eat through your battery. Something eating away at us is worrying us. Don't let money stress eat away at your happiness.
Vocabulary lists containing eat
3-letter words, List 1
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3-letter words, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
For next week’s edition of Don’t Short Yourself, I want to hear what you eat for lunch during the workweek, and how much you spend on it.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026
"We cannot eat rice without water. We cannot cook vegetables without water," he said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
"It's OK to eat those craved foods once in a while in moderation."
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
My program was all-consuming, though, and I barely had time to eat and sleep, let alone correspond.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
I retrieve Helen’s cardigan and then flop onto the retiring room sofa while the girls around me eat sandwiches and exchange glances over my prone body.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Brinker EAT -0.07%decrease; red down pointing triangle International posted higher second-quarter profit and revenue and raised its fiscal-year outlook as the perceived affordability of Chili’s continues to draw repeat customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
This fall, EAT will once again present their biannual new works series, to include dozens of new plays, musicals, dance pieces and cabaret performances.
From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2022
Since the beginning of pandemic, Pret has closed 39 shops in the UK, as well as 33 EAT outlets, which it also owns.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2021
To Brown’s chagrin, the EAT crowd seemed more receptive to this dream of Eden than to his unrepentant bovicide.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 23, 2019
She knew that just because you see a piece of cake and a sign that says EAT ME doesn’t mean you should actually do it.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
The storied company is struggling with a costly shift to electric vehicles at a time of patchy demand while intense Chinese competition eats away at market share.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
There are meaningful differences, of course, between a stranger navigating an unfamiliar shopping list and a husband who should know what his own family eats.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
My sport-obsessed son, who already eats a healthy balanced diet, asks me about protein powder on a regular basis.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
The entire offensive line eats together at lunch in the cafeteria.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
“Maybe he’ll bite Gladys,” I said, “and there’s nothing wrong with dog biscuits. Everybody eats dog biscuits at least once to see what they taste like.”
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
I traveled, ate and drank, and I met kindred souls I felt I’d known for lifetimes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Participants who consumed three servings of dairy daily did not show meaningful differences in weight gain, body composition, or blood cholesterol compared with those who ate little dairy.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
Last quarter, the cost of unhedged jet fuel doubled, contributing to a jump in operating expenses that ate into the group’s profit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Inflation obviously ate into some of those gains.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 1, 2026
Danny scooped up his rice and shredded pork and ate faster.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
But the sector has since eaten into the market for sturdier fossil-fuel-powered three-wheelers, becoming a major industry as manufacturers such as Mahindra expand their share.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
Davey said: "Our dragonfly here keeps us safe and stops us getting eaten alive."
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
About $12,000 went toward the wedding, and the rest went into the house, which has since eaten a new water heater and a roof repair nobody warned us about.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
The steep hybrid premium on the entry-level model will put it out of reach of the very buyers who need it most: wage-earning parents being eaten alive by fuel costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
Those grasshoppers—that’s what they were, in fact—had eaten everything green on Elroy’s farm, including his wife’s green dress that was hanging on the line!
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
The dessert was thrown away uneaten, but humble pie was what the council members were eating Tuesday as they congratulated the mayor-elect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026
"There are a lot of people on the streets and people eating out of the garbage because their subsidies were taken away," she said, describing what she sees as rising poverty in Cordoba.
From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2026
When my wife travels, screen time hits all-time highs, healthy eating habits plunge, and hygiene becomes suspect.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026
These medications can substantially alter appetite and eating behavior.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026
The upshot is that between the operation and the uncontrolled eating Fred has become enormously fat.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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