— eater , n.
/eet/ , v. , ate /ayt/ ; esp. Brit. /et/ or ( Archaic ) eat /et, eet/ ; eaten or ( Archaic ) eat /et, eet/ ; eating; n.
v.t.
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, esp. wastefully; consume (often fol. 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.
v.i.
8. to consume food; take a meal: We'll eat at six o'clock.
9. to make a way, as by gnawing or corrosion: Acid ate through the linoleum.
10. be eating someone , Informal. to worry, annoy, or bother: Something seems to be eating him - he's been wearing a frown all day.
11. eat away or into , to destroy gradually, as by erosion: For eons, the pounding waves ate away at the shoreline.
12. eat crow . See crow 1 (def. 7).
13. eat high off the hog . See hog (def. 11).
14. eat humble pie . See humble pie (def. 3).
15. eat in , to eat or dine at home.
16. eat one's heart out . See heart (def. 23).
17. eat one's terms . See term (def. 16).
18. eat one's words . See word (def. 14).
19. eat out , to have a meal at a restaurant rather than at home.
20. eat out of one's hand . See hand (def. 36).
21. 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.
22. eat someone's lunch , Slang. to thoroughly defeat, outdo, injure, etc.
23. eat the wind out of , Naut. to blanket (a sailing vessel sailing close-hauled) by sailing close on the weather side of.
24. eat up ,
a. to consume wholly.
b. to show enthusiasm for; take pleasure in: The audience ate up everything he said.
c. to believe without question.
n.
25. eats , Informal. food.
[ bef. 900; ME eten, OE etan; c. G essen, Goth itan, L edere ]