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Synonyms

lap up

British  

verb

  1. to eat or drink

  2. to relish or delight in

    he laps up old horror films

  3. to believe or accept eagerly and uncritically

    he laps up tall stories
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
lap up Idioms  

  1. Take in or receive very eagerly, as in She loves to travel—she just laps it up, or The agency is lapping up whatever information their spies send in. This expression alludes to an animal drinking greedily. [Late 1800s]

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.

Chip makers, cloud giants, and even energy stocks have lapped up much of the attention in the artificial-intelligence trade.

From Barron's

Mr Maleary believes the false portrayal has been gleefully lapped up by audiences.

From BBC

Box office news conferences, an Old Firm cup semi-final victory, a revival of fortunes in the league, and line after line lapped up by the adoring Parkhead support.

From BBC

“Grrrrr! It’s good,” the creature said, and lapped up the rest.

From Literature

For now, though, private investors are making hay as the public markets lap up stakes in the start-ups they placed early bets on.

From BBC

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.