English▸ verb [with object]
1 put (food) into the mouth and chew and swallow it:
he was eating a hot dog
[no object] she watched her son as he ate.
▪ have (a meal):
we ate dinner in a noisy cafe.
▪ informal bother; annoy:
she knew what was eating him
OK, Linley, what's eating you?
▪ US informal absorb (financial loss or cost):
if we had to, we could probably eat the cost.
▸ noun (eats) informal food or snacks:
people would stop for soft drinks or eats.
– PHRASES
eat someone alive informal
(of insects) bite someone many times:
suffer from excessive longing for someone or something unattainable:
eat very little.eat like a horse informal
eat a great deal.eat money Nigerian
acquire money dishonestly, typically by extorting or embezzling funds:
eat a lot of someone else's food:
retract what one has said, especially in a humiliated way:
have someone completely under one's control:
used to indicate that one thinks the specified thing is extremely unlikely to happen:
eat someone alive informal
(of insects) bite someone many times:
we were eaten alive by mosquitoes.
▪ exploit someone's weakness and completely dominate them:
eat one's heart out he expects manufacturers to be eaten alive by lawyers in liability suits.
suffer from excessive longing for someone or something unattainable:
I could have stayed in London eating my heart out for you.
▪ [in imperative] informal
used to encourage feelings of jealousy or regret:
eat like a bird informal used to encourage feelings of jealousy or regret:
eat your heart out, I'm having a ball!
eat very little.eat like a horse informal
eat a great deal.eat money Nigerian
acquire money dishonestly, typically by extorting or embezzling funds:
the governor was accused of eating money.
eat someone out of house and home informal eat a lot of someone else's food:
he would eat them out of house and home if he continued to run through biscuits at his present rate.
eat one's words retract what one has said, especially in a humiliated way:
they will eat their words when I win.
have someone eating out of one's hand have someone completely under one's control:
the guys have the crowd eating out of their hand right away with a few jokes.
I'll eat my hat informal used to indicate that one thinks the specified thing is extremely unlikely to happen:
if he comes back, I'll eat my hat.
– PHRASAL VERBS
eat away (eat something away, eat away something)
wear something away; gradually erode something:
wear something away; gradually erode something:
have a meal at home rather than in a restaurant.eat into (eat into something)
damage something by eroding or corroding it:
have a meal in a restaurant:
eat away (eat something away, eat away something)
wear something away; gradually erode something:
the bacteria produce an acid that eats away the enamel coating that protects teeth.
eat away at (eat away at something) wear something away; gradually erode something:
sinkholes happen when water eats away at underground rock, creating pits and craters.
▪ gradually use something up:
fees and insurance premiums can eat away at your savings
figurative the lack of success started eating away at his confidence.
▪ (eat away at someone)
cause persistent anxiety or distress to someone:
eat in cause persistent anxiety or distress to someone:
the knowledge of his affair still ate away at her.
have a meal at home rather than in a restaurant.eat into (eat into something)
damage something by eroding or corroding it:
these liquids can discolor the surface or even eat into the top layer of concrete.
▪ use up a quantity of profits, resources, or time:
eat out sales were hard hit by high interest rates eating into disposable income.
have a meal in a restaurant:
there were plenty of places to eat out in the city center.
eat up 1 (eat something up, eat up something)
eat all of something:
eat all of something:
if you don't eat up your carrots, you won't get dessert
Breakfast is here! Eat up.
▪ enjoy something greatly:
their fans ate up every minute of it.
– ORIGIN Old English etan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch eten and German essen, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin edere and Greek edein.