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

A hungry ecosystem devours its flesh and muscle.

From Los Angeles Times

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

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

The job gave Tarantino access to Video Archives’ diverse collection of thousands of films, which he devoured with a passion.

From BBC

She added that the pair "devoured art and music and film like hungry animals" in the city, and "were in the epicentre of all of these things exploding".

From BBC

Related Words

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