eat
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
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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.
verb
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to take into the mouth and swallow (food, etc), esp after biting and chewing
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(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
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
- eater noun
- outeat verb (used with object)
- undereat verb (used without object)
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
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.
Trichomonosis is caused by a parasite that affects the mouth, throat and upper digestive tracts of birds and can make it hard for them to eat, drink or breathe.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
But higher oil prices are expected to eat into consumer spending during the second quarter.
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
Illinois is also trying to get more people to eat them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Kempczinski also discussed menu strategy, what his company reveals about today’s cautious consumer—and why he’s willing to eat on camera again.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
“Okay, I’ll be right here. You didn’t eat your cherry—that’s the best part!”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
