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chew up

British

verb

to damage or destroy (something) by or as by chewing or grinding
slang (usually passive) to cause (a person) to be nervous or worried

he was all chewed up about the interview

"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

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.

AI providers are hiking prices and throttling usage amid real-capacity constraints, while “tokenmaxxing” is starting to chew up IT budgets, according to O’Regan.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026

“The yield issue is continuing to chew up the clock.”

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

Michael Pepper, who batted at number three, had struggled early on to hit the ball cleanly, while Brook was sat watching him chew up deliveries.

From BBC • Aug. 15, 2025

Walter had a simple explanation for why the Dodgers would back a project that would chew up a chunk of the parking lots in the stadium.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2023

I chew up two and then two more.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023