de ‧ vour /dɪˈvaʊə $ -ˈvaʊr/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: devorer , from Latin vorare 'to swallow' ]
1 . to eat something quickly because you are very hungry:
The boys devoured their pancakes.
2 . to read something quickly and eagerly, or watch something with great interest:
He devoured science fiction books.
3 . be devoured by something to be filled with a strong feeling that seems to control you:
Cindy felt devoured by jealousy.
4 . literary to destroy someone or something:
Her body had been almost entirely devoured by the disease.
5 . to use up all of something:
a job that devours all my energy
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THESAURUS
■ to eat something quickly
▪ gobble something up/down informal to eat something very quickly, especially because you like it very much or you are greedy:
You’ve gobbled up all the ice-cream!
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The children gobbled it down in no time.
▪ wolf something down informal to eat food quickly, especially because you are very hungry or in a hurry:
The boy wolfed down everything on his plate and asked for more.
▪ bolt something down British English to eat food very quickly, especially because you are in a hurry:
He bolted down his breakfast and was out of the door within 5 minutes.
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You shouldn’t bolt your food down like that.
▪ devour /dɪˈvaʊə $ -ˈvaʊr/ especially written to eat all of something quickly because you are very hungry:
In a very short time, the snake had devoured the whole animal.