eat

present singular third person eats · participle present eating · past ate · dialectal past et · participle past eaten · dialectal participle past etten · nonstandard participle past ate · first person past singular ate · dialectal first person past singular et · archaic present second person singular eatest · past second person singular ate · dialectal past second person singular et · archaic past second person singular atest · present singular third person eats · archaic present singular third person eateth · past singular third person ate

1. To ingest.
   1. ambitransitiveTo consume (something solid or semi-solid, usually food) by putting it into the mouth and swallowing it.

      He's eating an apple.

      5 more examples

      Don't disturb me now. Can't you see that I'm eating?

      But meate commendeth vs not to God: for neither if we eate, are we the better: neither if wee eate not, are we the woꝛſe.

      1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians 8:8, column 2

      At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap orred tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.

      1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC

      But Richmond[…]appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw[…]that he had eaten no more than a spoonful of that either.

      1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax

      Cully Barnaby: Are you going to eat this? or shall I just throw it away now? DCI Tom Barnaby: You sound just like your mother.

      1999 February 3, Anthony Horowitz et al., “Strangler's Wood”, in Midsomer Murders

      Synonyms: consume, swallow

   2. intransitiveTo consume a meal.

      What time do we eat this evening?

      4 more examples

      I eat in the kitchen.

      2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

      I don't know any quarter in England where you get such undeniable mutton—mutton that eats like mutton, instead of the nasty watery, stringy, turnipy stuff, neither mutton nor lamb, that other countries are inundated with.

      1852, The New Monthly Magazine, page 310

      [D]ish him with thlitheth of orangeth, barberrieth, grapeth, goothberrieth, and butter; and you will find that he eaths deliciouthly either with farced pain or gammon pain.

      [D]ish him [the fish] with slices of oranges, barberries, grapes, gooseberries, and butter; and you will find that he eats deliriously either with farced pain or gammon pain.

      1863, J[oseph] Sheridan Le Fanu, “In Which the Minstrelsy Proceeds”, in The House by the Church-yard. […], volume I, London: Tinsley, Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 73

      This wine is drinking great. And this food is eating great.

      2025, 00:37:35 from the start, in Aziz Ansari, director, Good Fortune, spoken by Elena (Keke Palmer)

      Synonyms: dine, chow down, feed one's face

   3. copulativeintransitiveTo have a particular quality of diet; to be well-fed or underfed.

      I try to eat healthy these days.

2. ergativeintransitiveTo be ingested.

   It's a soup that eats like a meal.

3. intransitiveTo be savored or enjoyed; to taste in a specified way.

   It's an unattractive dish, but it eats pretty good.

4. To use up.
   1. figurativelyoftentransitivewith upTo destroy, consume, or use up.

      That hobby eats his savings.

      2 more examples

      This project is eating up all the money.

      His wretched estate is eaten up with mortgages.

      1857–1859, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, The Virginians. A Tale of the Last Century, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1858–1859, →OCLC

   2. figurativelyinformaltransitivecomputingTo consume (an exception, an event, etc.) so that other parts of the program do not receive it.

      A bigger problem, however, is that if you catch/eat an exception and do nothing with it, you are very likely introducing subtle bugs in your application that will be next to impossible to track down.

      2005, Wallace B. McClure, Gregory A. Beamer, John J. Croft IV, Professional ADO.NET 2, page 246

   3. figurativelyinformaltransitiveTo damage, destroy, or fail to eject a removable part or an inserted object.

      The VHS recorder just ate the tape and won't spit it out.

      2 more examples

      John is late for the meeting because the photocopier ate his report.

      No! There's a problem with the cassette player. Don't press fast forward or it eats the tape!

      1991, Shane Black, The Last Boy Scout (movie)

   4. figurativelyinformaltransitiveTo consume money (or other instruments of value, such as a token) deposited or inserted by a user, while failing to either provide the intended product or service or return the payment.

      The video game in the corner just ate my quarter.

      1 more example

      Hey! This stupid [soda vending] machine ate my quarter.

      1977, Nancy Dowd, Slap Shot (movie)

5. informaltransitiveTo cause (someone) to worry.

   What's eating you?

   Synonyms: bother, disturb, worry

6. transitivebusinessTo take the loss in a transaction.

   I have to have him in court tomorrow, if he doesn't show up, I forfeit the bond and I have to eat the $300,000.

   1988, George Gallo, Midnight Run (movie)

   2 more examples

   The server made an error when taking the order. The bartender prepared two scorpion bowls. When the error was realized the bartender was faced with having to "eat" the extra scorpion bowl […]

   1999, Ronald S. Beitman, Liquor Liability: A Primer for Winning Your Case, page 27

   When they were doing it with the valuation professionals, they were billing the client, but the valuation professional in a lot of those early cases had to eat the cost of showing the auditor how the auditors' test model was incorrect.

   2011, Lorenzo Carver, Venture Capital Valuation

7. slangtransitiveTo be injured or killed by (something such as a firearm or its projectile), especially in the mouth.

   There was a resounding smacking noise and Georgy was sure Philip had just eaten a fist.

   2018, Daniel Tomazic, Of Bullies and Men: Young Adult Fiction, →ISBN, page 18

   5 more examples

   I risk my whole future, the hatred of the cops and Eddie Mars' gang. I dodge bullets and eat saps.

   1944, William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, Jules Furthman, The Big Sleep (screenplay)

   And, of course, there was Brian Rusk, who had eaten a bullet at the ripe old age of eleven.

   1991, Stephen King, Needful Things

   Friends are only necessary in the ghastly country, where you have to have them, along with rubber boots and a barometer and secateurs, to put off bucolic idiocy, a wet brain, or eating the 12-bore.

   1997, A. A. Gill, "Diary" (in The Spectator, 1 November 1997)

   Mike had been to other calls where someone had eaten a gun. He knew to expect teeth embedded in the ceiling and brains dripping off it.

   2012, Kaya McLaren, How I Came to Sparkle Again: A Novel, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN

   The animal was sweating and scared and MacAdams was surprised when they finished up without either of them eating a kick.

   2017, Edward W. Robertson, Stardust, Edward W. Robertson

8. ambitransitiveTo corrode or erode.

   The acid rain ate away the statue.  The strong acid eats through the metal.

9. slangtransitiveTo perform oral sex (on a person or body part).

   Eat me!

   2 more examples

   I ate his ass.

   Yeah, eat that dick / eat that pussy.

   Synonyms: eat out

10. ambitransitiveslangstativeAfrican-American VernacularTo do or perform well and stunningly; to consume a challenge successfully and stylishly; to rule, to slay.

    This song eats!

    2 more examples

    You ate that performance!

    Lorde and Charli XCX confronted each other via song like some kind of alt-pop musical-theater number, and it ate. “The girl, so confusing version with lorde,” like all the best pop music, features multiple moments that burrow into your brain and refuse to leave, giving you no other choice but to simply relisten to the track.

    2024 June 21, Jason P. Frank, “Who Else Needs to Work It Out on a Remix?”, in Vulture

    Synonyms: devour, eat and leave no crumbs, bang, rock, slap, bang, devour, eat and leave no crumbs

11. sometimestransitiveactingTo act well (in a role); to be intensely devoted (to a role).

    Most of the movie was pretty weak, but she ate her role, and I couldn't take my eyes off her.

12. slangtransitiveTo annex.

plural eats

1. colloquialSomething to be eaten; a meal; a food item.

   Eating a Picnic creates a flurry of wafer pieces, flying peanuts and chocolate crumbs. […] As well as being messy, Picnic happens to be a big eat – something of a consumption challenge in fact.

   2011, William Chitty, Nigel Barker, Michael Valos, Integrated Marketing Communications, page 167