- eat
- eat [ it ] (past tense ate [ eıt ] ; past participle eat|en [ `itn ] ) verb intransitive or transitive ***to put food into your mouth and swallow it:We sat on the grass and ate our sandwiches.Don't talk while you're eating.I've eaten too much.Finish your lunch you've hardly eaten anything.a. to eat a particular type or amount of food:Do you eat meat/fish/eggs?It's hard to persuade my family to eat healthy foods.eat well/healthily/sensibly (=eat food that is good for you): Many people who live alone don't eat well.eating habits/patterns (=what someone eats, and when they eat): It will take time to change your children's eating habits.b. to have a meal:We don't eat breakfast together, except on weekends.Beth ate her evening meal in the hotel.Are you ready to eat?eat at: We ate at a small Chinese restaurant several blocks away.something to eat (=food): Where can we get something to eat?a bite to eat (=a quick meal): Do you want to grab a bite to eat before we go?eat someone alive1. ) eat someone alive/for breakfast/lunch to defeat or deal with someone easily2. ) if insects eat you alive, they keep biting you:We were being eaten alive by mosquitos.eat like a birdto eat very littleeat like a horse INFORMALto eat a loteat someone out of house and home HUMOROUSto eat too much of someone's food when you are a guest in their houseeat your heart out HUMOROUSused for saying that you are doing something much better than a famous person does iteat your words INFORMALto admit that you were wrong about somethinghave someone eating out of your handto make someone like or admire you so much that they agree with everything that you saywhat's eating someone? SPOKENused for asking why someone is annoyed or unhappy=> CROW1,eat a`way phrasal verb transitiveeat away or eat into to gradually destroy something:Within a few years inflation had eaten away all the economic gains.,eat a`way at phrasal verb transitiveto make someone feel more and more unhappy or worried:You could see that jealousy was eating away at her.,eat `in phrasal verb intransitiveto have a meal at home instead of in a restaurant─ opposite EAT OUT`eat ,into phrasal verb transitive eat into something1. ) if an activity or cost eats into your time or money, it uses more of it than you intended2. ) same as EAT AWAY:The river had eaten into the bank, and part of it had collapsed.,eat `out phrasal verb intransitiveto have a meal in a restaurant instead of at home─ opposite EAT IN,eat `up phrasal verb1. ) intransitive or transitive MAINLY SPOKEN to eat all of something:Come on, eat up your broccoli.Eat up, and we'll go for a walk.2. ) transitive to use large amounts of your available time or money:Having children eats up a lot of a family's income.3. ) transitive eat up something to travel a particular distance easily and steadily:They drove on, eating up the distance between themselves and home.be eaten up by/with somethingto feel a negative emotion so strongly that it is difficult to think about anything else:Paula was eaten up by guilt for days.eat it up INFORMALto like something so much that you want to hear or see more:The press argued over the book, and the public was eating it up.
Usage of the words and phrases in modern English. 2013.