gobble

¹ American  

[gob-uhl] / ˈgɒb əl /

verb (used with object)

gobbled, gobbling

1. to swallow or eat hastily or hungrily in large pieces; gulp.

   Synonyms:

   devour, bolt

2. to seize upon eagerly (often followed byup ).

   After being gone for so long, they gobbled up all the local news.

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verb (used without object)

gobbled, gobbling

1. to eat hastily.

gobble ² American  

[gob-uhl] / ˈgɒb əl /

verb (used without object)

gobbled, gobbling

1. to make the characteristic throaty cry of a male turkey.

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noun

1. the cry itself.

gobble ¹ British  

/ ˈɡɒbəl /

noun

1. the loud rapid gurgling sound made by male turkeys

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interjection

1. an imitation of this sound

verb

1. (intr) (of a turkey) to make this sound

gobble ² British  

/ ˈɡɒbəl /

verb

1. to eat or swallow (food) hastily and in large mouthfuls

2. informal to snatch

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Etymology

Origin of gobble¹

1595–1605; probably imitative; gob ¹, -le

Origin of gobble²

First recorded in 1670–80; variant of gabble

Example Sentences

Every summer they gobbled up the best recruits, and every winter they were among the favorites to add to their trophy cabinets.

From The Wall Street Journal

"My favourite is when Mr Wolf gobbled up all the pancakes."

From BBC

Robinson gobbled up 15 rebounds—10 of them offensive rebounds to give the Knicks bonus shots—in just 18 minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mr Clothier explains: "The methanogenic bacteria are gobbling up all the solids and generating loads of lovely methane, which we then catch in the hoods over the top."

From BBC

“Sinners” is the most exciting film of 2025, both for what it is and for what it proves: that fresh blockbusters still exist and people are eager to gobble them up.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• devour
• gulp
• guzzle
• swallow