eat
Other forms: eating; ate; eaten; eats
If you leave an antique flowerpot outside all winter, the snow and rain might eat the paint, making it look even older than it is.
You probably know that eat means "to consume food," because you do that several times a day. But we also use the verb eat for other situations involving using something up or wearing it down. If your art project eats up all your art supplies, that means you don't have any left. Leaving your car lights on will eat through your battery. Something eating away at us is worrying us. Don't let money stress eat away at your happiness.
Definitions of eat
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take in solid food“She was eating a banana”“What did you eat for dinner last night?”
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Synonyms:
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feed
take in food; used of animals only
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types:
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wash down
eat food accompanied by lots of liquid; also use metaphorically
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fress, gluttonise, gluttonize
eat a lot and without restraint
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wolf, wolf down
eat hastily
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slurp
eat or drink noisily
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fare
eat well
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dig in, pitch in
eat heartily
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peck, peck at, pick at
eat like a bird
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peck, pick up
eat by pecking at, like a bird
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bolt, gobble
eat hastily without proper chewing
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bolt down, garbage down, gobble up, shovel in
eat a large amount of food quickly
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nibble, pick, piece
eat intermittently; take small bites of
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ruminate
chew the cuds
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dip, dunk
dip into a liquid while eating
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devour, guttle, pig, raven, scarf
eat greedily
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eat up, finish, polish off
finish eating all the food on one's plate or on the table
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consume, devour, down, go through
eat immoderately
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fill, fill up
eat until one is sated
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put away, tuck away, tuck in
eat up; usually refers to a considerable quantity of food
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feed
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take in food; used of animals only“This dog doesn't eat certain kinds of meat”“What do whales eat?”
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synonyms:
feed
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eat a meal; take a meal“We did not eat until 10 P.M. because there were so many phone calls”“I didn't eat yet, so I gladly accept your invitation”
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types:
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take away, take out
buy and consume food from a restaurant or establishment that sells prepared food
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victual
take in nourishment
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dine in, eat in
eat at home
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dine out, eat out
eat at a restaurant or at somebody else's home
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dine
have supper; eat dinner
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picnic
eat alfresco, in the open air
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break bread
have a meal, usually with company
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nosh, snack
eat a snack; eat lightly
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mess
eat in a mess hall
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lunch
take the midday meal
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brunch
eat a meal in the late morning
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breakfast
eat an early morning meal
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banquet, feast, junket
partake in a feast or banquet
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binge, englut, engorge, glut, gorge, gormandise, gormandize, gourmandize, ingurgitate, overeat, overgorge, overindulge, pig out, satiate, scarf out, stuff
overeat or eat immodestly; make a pig of oneself
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wash down
eat food accompanied by lots of liquid; also use metaphorically
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fress, gluttonise, gluttonize
eat a lot and without restraint
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wolf, wolf down
eat hastily
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slurp
eat or drink noisily
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fare
eat well
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dig in, pitch in
eat heartily
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peck, peck at, pick at
eat like a bird
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peck, pick up
eat by pecking at, like a bird
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bolt, gobble
eat hastily without proper chewing
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bolt down, garbage down, gobble up, shovel in
eat a large amount of food quickly
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nibble, pick, piece
eat intermittently; take small bites of
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ruminate
chew the cuds
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browse, graze
eat lightly, try different dishes
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dip, dunk
dip into a liquid while eating
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wine and dine
eat sumptuously
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devour, guttle, pig, raven, scarf
eat greedily
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eat up, finish, polish off
finish eating all the food on one's plate or on the table
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consume, devour, down, go through
eat immoderately
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fill, fill up
eat until one is sated
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use up (resources or materials)
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types:
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run out
exhaust the supply of
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drain
deplete of resources
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indulge, luxuriate
enjoy to excess
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burn, burn off, burn up
use up (energy)
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spend
spend completely
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exhaust, play out, run down, sap, tire
deplete
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surfeit
indulge (one's appetite) to satiety
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overspend
spend more than available of (a budget)
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underspend
spend less than the whole of (a budget, for example)
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cause to deteriorate due to the action of water, air, or an acid
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worry or cause anxiety in a persistent way
Pronunciation
US
/it/
UK
/it/
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