devour

[ dih-vou-uhr, -vou-er ]

verb (used with object)

1. to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.
2. to consume destructively, recklessly, or wantonly:

   Fire devoured the old museum.

3. to engulf or swallow up.
4. to take in greedily with the senses or intellect:

   to devour the works of Freud.

5. to absorb or engross wholly:

   a mind devoured by fears.

devour

/ dɪˈvaʊə /

verb

1. to swallow or eat up greedily or voraciously
2. to waste or destroy; consume

   the flames devoured the curtains

3. to consume greedily or avidly with the senses or mind

   he devoured the manuscripts

4. to engulf or absorb

   the flood devoured the land

Derived Forms

• deˈvourer, noun
• deˈvouring, adjective
• deˈvouringly, adverb

Other Words From

• de·vourer noun
• de·vouring·ly adverb
• de·vouring·ness noun
• inter·de·vour verb (used with object)
• prede·vour verb (used with object)
• rede·vour verb (used with object)
• self-de·vouring adjective
• unde·voured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of devour¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English devouren, from Anglo-French, Old French devourer, from Latin dēvorāre “to swallow down,” from dē- de- + vorāre “to eat up”

Word History and Origins

Origin of devour¹

C14: from Old French devourer, from Latin dēvorāre to gulp down, from de- + vorāre to consume greedily; see voracious

Example Sentences

As fires devour flammable brush and vegetation, the heat propels burning embers upward.

From Los Angeles Times

When they land, they risk igniting new spot fires, which can quickly devour homes.

From Los Angeles Times

I devour a lot of self-help and self-improvement books, and many preach about the dangers of what happens when you give up.

From Los Angeles Times

He keeps mosquitoes away with a dozen or so tiny fish that devour their larvae.

From Los Angeles Times

In the end, however, it was Trump’s responses and eagerness to take and devour whatever bait Harris set out for him that was the story of the evening.

From BBC

Related Words

• absorb
• destroy
• eat
• exhaust
• feed on
• go through
• gobble
• ingest
• inhale
• ravage
• use up
• wipe out