devour
verb (used with object)
to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.
were devouring
-
past progressiveof devour.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
In the Middle Ages, European farmers noticed the critters were devouring pests, saving their crops in the process.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 16, 2025
When he got there, everything was fine, except that her baby, he discovered, was one of two wriggling black mounds covered by swarms of black flies, which were "devouring the remnants of the placental membranes."
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2025
He and his band were devouring an Afrobeat groove in a tune pointedly titled “All Brothers,” when I glanced at my phone and learned that Nat Hentoff had died, at 91.
From New York Times ● Jan. 8, 2017
I went over to their house once and three baby tigers were devouring chicken legs in the living room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2011
He was standing with folded arms before the picture, his eyes, gleaming from under beetling brows, were devouring it hungrily, line by line.
From The Four Pools Mystery by Jean Webster
