eat
19 ENTRIES FOUND:
Britannica Dictionary definition of EAT
1
:
to take food into your mouth and swallow it
[+ object]
-
You'll feel better if you eat something.
-
I ate a big breakfast so I'm not very hungry.
-
Let's grab a bite to eat. = Let's get something to eat.
-
I've been trying to watch what I eat. [=to be more careful about eating healthy foods and not eating too much]
[no object]
-
I'm hungry. Let's eat.
-
They like to eat at home.
-
It's important to eat right. [=to eat healthy foods]
◊ To eat out is to dine at a restaurant rather than at home.
-
We like to eat out on Fridays.
◊ To eat in is to dine at home.
-
Let's eat in tonight.
2
:
to gradually destroy, use, or take away something
:
to wear something away
[+ object]
— usually + away
-
The rocks were eaten away by erosion.
[no object]
— usually + into, away at, or at
-
Marketing costs ate into their profits.
-
The acids were eating away at the metal finish.
-
The failure of his business has eaten away at his confidence.
3
[+ object]
informal
:
to bother or annoy (someone)
-
What's eating you?
be eating out of someone's hand
:
to be completely controlled by someone
-
He had them eating out of his hand. [=he controlled them completely]
eat a horse
eat crow
(US) informal or eat humble pie
:
to admit that you were wrong or accept that you have been defeated
-
He was forced to eat crow when the company fired him.
-
They had to eat humble pie when the rumors they were spreading were proved false.
eat light
eat (someone or something) alive
1
of insects
:
to bite (someone or something) many times
-
The mosquitoes were eating us alive. [=we were being bitten frequently by many mosquitoes]
2
:
to badly defeat or harm someone or something
-
Their competitors are going to eat them alive if they don't cut their prices.
-
If this story gets out, the press will eat him alive.
eat someone's or something's lunch
eat up
[phrasal verb]
1
— used to tell someone to start or continue eating
-
Eat up! Your dinner is getting cold.
2
eat up (something)
or
eat (something) up
a
:
to eat all of (something)
-
Eat your dinner up before it gets cold.
b
:
to use up (time, resources, etc.)
-
This project has been eating up a large part of the budget.
-
Your savings may be eaten up by inflation.
3
◊ A person who is eaten up with or by jealousy, bitterness, etc., cannot escape that feeling and is made unhappy by it.
-
He was eaten up with envy of his brother's success.
4
eat (something) up
informal
:
to enjoy (something) greatly
-
I thought the speech was stupid, but the audience ate it up.
eat up the clock
eat your fill
eat your heart out
:
to be jealous
-
“Eat your heart out,” he jokingly told his friend before getting on his new boat.
eat your words
:
to take back what you have said
:
to admit that you were wrong about something
-
She said she would eat her words if the wedding wasn't called off.
-
They promised success, but if things don't get better soon, they may have to eat their words.
have your cake and eat it too
or have your cake and eat itI'll eat my hat
informal + old-fashioned
— used to say that something will not happen or cannot be true
-
If he wins the election, I'll eat my hat! [=I don't believe he has any chance to win the election]
the proof of the pudding is in the eating
-
an eatable [=(more commonly) edible] plant
— eater
noun, plural eaters [count]-
a picky eater [=someone who dislikes many kinds of food]
-
a big eater [=someone who eats a lot]
