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.
3 US English informal absorb (financial loss or cost):
if we had to, we could probably eat the cost.
– PHRASES
eat someone alive informal
(of insects) bite someone many times:
(of insects) bite someone many times:
we were eaten alive by mosquitoes.
▪
exploit someone's weakness and completely dominate them:
exploit someone's weakness and completely dominate them:
the defence lawyers would eat him alive on a written comment like that.
eat one's heart out
suffer from excessive longing for someone or something unattainable:
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 indicate that one thinks someone will feel great jealousy or regret:
used to indicate that one thinks someone will feel great jealousy or regret:
eat your heart out, those who missed the trip.
eat like a bird informal
eat very little:
eat very little:
he has somehow maintained his high school weight by eating like a bird for most of his life.
eat like a horse informal
eat a great deal:
eat a great deal:
when I was a kid or even a teenager I would eat like a horse but burn it all off.
eat like a pig informal
eat very greedily:
eat very greedily:
I drank like a fish and ate like a pig, so didn't lose any weight for a year.
eat money Nigerian English
acquire money dishonestly, typically by extorting or embezzling funds:
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:
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:
retract what one has said, especially in a humiliated way:
they will eat their words when I win.
– PHRASAL VERBS
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
the lack of success started eating away at his confidence figurative.
▪ (eat away at someone) cause persistent anxiety or distress to someone:
the knowledge of his affair still ate away at her.
eat in have a meal in the restaurant where it has been prepared, rather than away from the premises:
customers will have the option to eat in or take away.
▪ have a meal at home rather than in a restaurant:
let's just eat in tonight.
eat into (eat into something) damage something by eroding or corroding it:
these liquids can discolour the surface or even eat into the top layer of concrete.
▪ use up a quantity of profits, resources, or time:
sales were hard hit by high interest rates eating into disposable income.
eat up
1 (eat something up, eat up 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.