I. ˈēt, usu ˈēd.+V verb
( ate ˈā]t chiefly in substand speech ˈe]t, usu ]d.+V; Brit ˈet sometimes ˈāt ; or dialect eat ˈe]t, ˈē]t, usu ]d.+V ; also et ˈet, usu ˈed.+V ; eat·en ˈēt ə n ; or dialect eat ˈe]t, ˈē]t, usu ]d.+V ; also et ˈet, usu ˈed.+V ; eat·ing ˈēd.iŋ, ˈētiŋ ; eats ˈēts)
Etymology: Middle English eten, from Old English etan; akin to Old High German ezzan to eat, Old Norse eta, Gothic itan, Latin esse, edere, Greek (Homeric) edmenai to eat, Sanskrit atti he eats, admi I eat
transitive verb
1.
a. : to take in through the mouth as food
sat eating a ripe plum
: ingest, chew, and swallow (food) — used of solids and then contrasted with drink
he ate his sandwich and drank a glass of milk
or broadly of both solids and liquids
he eats dinner at noon
eat your soup
b. : to use as food : make a food of : obtain nourishment from
the carnivores eat meat
eat whatever is put before you
2. : destroy, use up, or waste by or as if by eating : devour , consume , ravage
time eats the strongest walls
the wooded hills were eaten by fire
locusts ate the country bare
an inheritance eaten up by debt
3. : to take in in order to obtain some benefit (as nourishment, wisdom, or comfort)
Thy words were found, and I ate them — Jer. 15:16 (Revised Standard Version)
4.
a. : to consume gradually
waves eating the cliffs
: waste or wear away
eaten by a high fever
: corrode
acid eating the surface of a metal plate
b. slang
(1) : to consume with vexation
what's eating her now
(2) : to defeat decisively
our team can eat those chumps
5.
a. obsolete : to submit tamely to (as insult or abuse) : accept as one's portion — compare eat crow , eat dirt
b. slang : to accept unquestioningly : believe uncritically — usually used with up
he ate up the stories of our journeys
6.
a. : to gnaw, perforate, or bore into
the timber was so eaten by termites as to be useless
b. : to bring (as oneself) to a particular state by eating
he ate himself sick
the peach was eaten hollow by Japanese beetles
he'll eat us out of house and home
intransitive verb
1. : to take food or a meal
where shall we eat this evening
broadly : board
I eat at the little café around the corner
2. : to present a specified quality or characteristic when eaten
crackers alone eat very dry
the beef ate surprisingly tender
3.
a. : to affect something by a gradual destructive action — used with into
the acid ate into the metal
an ulcer ate into the flesh
b. : to use up in part especially over a period of time — used with into
smokers eat greedily into dollar reserves — English Digest
his extravagances ate into his inheritance
4. slang : to annoy or irritate someone — used with on
what's eating on her
Synonyms:
swallow , ingest , devour , consume : eat is a general term, often without especial connotation; figuratively, it may indicate a wasting or wearing away, often gradual
the river has been eating away its west bank rather than east — American Guide Series: Louisiana
poor Mother, the farm has eaten away her life — Ellen Glasgow
swallow may focus attention on passage down the throat without chewing or without much chewing
chewing pemmican and swallowing army bread — F.V.W.Mason
Figuratively, it implies a seizing, taking in, engulfing, encompassing, or dominating so that existence or identity of the object concerned is threatened or lost
in opera the music swallows the words and the other arts of the theater — Susanne K. Langer
Detroit burst its bounds, swallowed other sizable cities — American Guide Series: Michigan
ingest indicates with comprehensiveness and indefiniteness any process of taking through the mouth and into the stomach
does a man dine well because he ingests the requisite number of calories? — Walter Lippmann
anyone who accidentally ingests some of the fluid should not go untreated — H.G.Armstrong
Figuratively, it likewise stresses the fact of reception, absorption, or assimilation without more specific suggestion
ingested the statement slowly, thought, and then began to express surprise — Elizabeth Bowen
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics wants to annex and ingest as many satellite nations as possible — B.A.Javits
devour indicates an eating up wholly, typically with force, intemperance, greed, or rapacity
it is only when an object in the water is still that a shark can devour it — H.A.Chippendale
crossties are of steel, since the customary wooden ties would be quickly devoured by insects — Tom Marvel
Figuratively, it implies greedy or very avid seizing or using
an omnivorous reader, devouring history, biography, philosophy, science, and fiction — A.F.Harlow
consume may stress the fact of using up entirely by eating or drinking or otherwise employing or assimilating
taking a piece of asparagus in her hand, she was deeply mortified at seeing her hostess consume the vegetable with the aid of a knife and fork — G.B.Shaw
one famous class of British locomotives consumed about 52 pounds of coal per mile on ordinary express duty — O.S.Nock
It may indicate utter consumption accomplished forcefully, fiercely, or wastefully
the first two buildings occupying this site were destroyed by fire, the last being consumed in the flames that swept the city in 1794 — American Guide Series: Louisiana
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- eat crow
- eat dirt
- eat high on the hog
- eat one's head off
- eat one's heart out
- eat one's words
- eat out of one's hand
- eat someone's salt
- eat stick
- eat the air
II. ˈēt, usu ˈēd.+V\ noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English et, from Old English ǣt; akin to Old High German āz food, Old Norse āt, Russian eda; derivative from the root of English eat (I)
: something to eat : food — usually used in plural
saw the jolly bunch come waltzing in for eats — Sinclair Lewis
III. transitive verb
1. : to perform fellatio or cunnilingus on — usually considered vulgar
2. : to bear the expense of : take a loss on
rather than eat the loss, most retailers have been insisting that manufacturers offer discounts — James Traub
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- eat alive
- eat someone's lunch