■ verb ( past ate ɛt , eɪt ; past participle ~en )
1》 put (food) into the mouth and chew and swallow it.
↘( ~ out or in ) have a meal in a restaurant (or at home).
2》 ( ~ something away or ~ away at/into ) erode or destroy something gradually.
↘( ~ something up ) use resources in very large quantities.
↘( ~ someone up ) dominate someone's thoughts completely.
■ noun ( ~s ) informal light food or snacks.
Phrases
~ one's heart out suffer from excessive longing for something unattainable.
~ like a bird (or a horse ) informal ~ very little (or a lot).
~ one's words retract what one has said, especially in a humiliated way.
I'll ~ my hat informal said to indicate that one thinks something is extremely unlikely to happen.
what's ~ing you (or him etc.) ? informal what is worrying or annoying you?
Derivatives
~er noun
Origin
OE etan , of Gmc origin.