eat

[ eet ]

verb (used with object)

, ate [eyt, et] or (Archaic) eat [et, eet]; eat·en or (Archaic) eat [et, eet]; eat·ing.

1. to take into the mouth and swallow for nourishment; chew and swallow (food).
2. to consume by or as if by devouring gradually; wear away; corrode:

   The patient was eaten by disease and pain.

3. to make (a hole, passage, etc.), as by gnawing or corrosion.
4. to ravage or devastate:

   a forest eaten by fire.

5. to use up, especially wastefully; consume (often followed by up ):

   Unexpected expenses have been eating up their savings.

6. to absorb or pay for:

   The builder had to eat the cost of the repairs.

7. Slang: Vulgar. to perform cunnilingus or fellatio on.

verb (used without object)

, ate [eyt, et] or (Archaic) eat [et, eet]; eat·en or (Archaic) eat [et, eet]; eat·ing.

1. to consume food; take a meal:

   We'll eat at six o'clock.

2. to make a way, as by gnawing or corrosion:

   Acid ate through the linoleum.

noun

1. eats, Informal. food.

verb phrase

1. to destroy gradually, as by erosion:

   For eons, the pounding waves ate away at the shoreline.

2. 1. to consume wholly.
   2. to show enthusiasm for; take pleasure in:

      The audience ate up everything he said.

   3. to believe without question.
3. to have a meal at a restaurant rather than at home.

eat

¹

/ iːt /

verb

1. to take into the mouth and swallow (food, etc), esp after biting and chewing
2. tr; often foll by away or up to destroy as if by eating

   the damp had eaten away the woodwork

3. often foll by into to use up or waste

   taxes ate into his inheritance

4. often foll byinto or through to make (a hole, passage, etc) by eating or gnawing

   rats ate through the floor

5. to take or have (a meal or meals)

   we always eat at six

6. tr to include as part of one's diet

   he doesn't eat fish

7. informal.
   tr to cause to worry; make anxious

   what's eating you?

8. slang.
   tr to perform cunnilingus or fellatio upon
9. I'll eat my hat if informal.
   I will be greatly surprised if (something happens that proves me wrong)
10. eat one's heart out
    to brood or pine with grief or longing
11. eat one's words
    to take back something said; recant; retract
12. eat out of someone's hand
    to be entirely obedient to someone
13. eat someone out of house and home
    to ruin someone, esp one's parent or one's host, by consuming all his food

EAT

²

abbreviation for

1. Tanzania (international car registration)

Derived Forms

• ˈeater, noun

Other Words From

• eater noun
• outeat verb (used with object) outate outeaten outeating
• under·eat verb (used without object) underate undereaten undereating

Word History and Origins

Origin of eat¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English eten, Old English etan; cognate with German essen, Gothic itan, Latin edere, esse, Homeric Greek édein

Word History and Origins

Origin of eat¹

Old English etan; related to Gothic itan, Old High German ezzan, Latin edere, Greek edein, Sanskrit admi

Origin of eat²

from E(ast) A(frica) T(anganyika) or E(ast) A(frica) Z(anzibar)

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. be eating someone, Informal. to worry, annoy, or bother:

   Something seems to be eating him—he's been wearing a frown all day.

2. eat in, to eat or dine at home.
3. eat the wind out of, Nautical. to blanket (a sailing vessel sailing close-hauled) by sailing close on the weather side of.
4. 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.

5. eat someone's lunch, Slang. to thoroughly defeat, outdo, injure, etc.
6. eat clean. clean ( def 51 ).
7. eat crow. crow ¹( def 7 ).
8. eat high off the hog. hog ( def 16 ).
9. eat humble pie. humble pie ( def 3 ).
10. eat one's heart out. heart ( def 26 ).
11. eat one's terms. term ( def 17 ).
12. eat one's words. word ( def 17 ).
13. eat out of one's hand. hand ( def 50 ).

More idioms and phrases containing eat

• dog eat dog
• proof of the pudding is in the eating
• what's eating you

Example Sentences

We can't hope to transition the way we produce and eat sugar overnight.

From Salon

Unlike commercial antibiotics, phages evolve alongside their bacterial hosts, dodging and parrying the bacterial response so that for every pathogen, there’s likely a bacteriophage, somewhere, that eats it.

From Salon

“Every time Chad loses his shirt, have a sip of wine, beer or eat a cookie,” he laughs over Zoom, as one hand brushes his golden strands behind his ear.

From Los Angeles Times

Experts then reviewed the photos to assess the amount of food actually eaten and determine the nutrients consumed during each meal.

From Science Daily

In more extreme cases, Professor Gillan's research has shown that it can even contribute to compulsive behaviours seen in conditions such as obsessive compulsivedisorder, substance use disorders, and eating disorders.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• attack
• bite
• chew
• devour
• dine
• feed
• ingest
• inhale
• nibble
• pick
• swallow