Meanings
present singular third person eats one's heart out · participle present eating one's heart out · past ate one's heart out · participle past eaten one's heart out
- idiomaticTo feel overwhelming sorrow, jealousy, or longing; to grieve.
Eat your heart out, pal! We won the title!
4 more examples
The Brazilians are eating their hearts out over their defeat by Germany in the World Cup.
People in ordinary life who pine for want of something to do and to care about, are subject to ailments which are called “the maladies of ennui.” These are real diseases, though arising from moral causes. The brain wears upon itself, the nerves become disordered, and the various bodily functions are disturbed, just as in the case of a restless prisoner who is said to “eat his heart out” in captivity.
1861, Harriet Martineau, “The soldier and sailor: their health”, in Once a Week (Series 1, Volume IV)Castles where [August the Strong] imprisoned this discarded mistress or that - one of them, who persisted in her claim to a better title, forty years, it is said, poor lady! The narrow rooms where she ate her heart out and died are still shown.
1900, Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men on the BummelJon: We got a postcard from Doc Boy! He’s vacationing in Loogieville, Indiana…says he had his picture taken with the world’s largest corn cob Garfield: Eiffel Tower, eat your heart out
2001 August 18, Jim Davis, Garfield
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Disputed. Three schools of thought exist: * From "This will eat your heart out.", suggesting that the recipient of the taunt will have their heart, the core of their being, eaten out with desire, bitterness, or pain. * From the 16th century "to eat one's own heart" (to suffer in silence from anguish or grief), possibly from the Bible "to eat one's own flesh" (to be lazy). The phrase "to eat one's heart out" appears as a formulaic phrase in the Iliad, meaning to experience extreme grief. (For instance, Iliad.24.128, and many other locations.) * When used as the taunt "Eat your heart out, [someone]!" a suggestion that the recipient of the taunt "eat up" as much as they like. Figuratively more akin to "experience me besting you."
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 傷心 /伤心
- 傷心 /伤心 (shāngxīn)feel overwhelming negative emotion
Dutch lekker puh, nou jij weer
- lekker puhfeel overwhelming negative emotion
- nou jij weerfeel overwhelming negative emotion
Finnish kärsiä, tuntea tuskaa
- kärsiäfeel overwhelming negative emotion
- tuntea tuskaafeel overwhelming negative emotion
- sirotella tuhkaa päällensäfeel overwhelming negative emotion
French se ronger le cœur
- se ronger le cœurfeel overwhelming negative emotion
German vor Neid erblassen
- vor Neid erblassenfeel overwhelming negative emotion
Hebrew אכל את הלב
- אכל את הלבfeel overwhelming negative emotion
Italian rodersi il fegato
- rodersi il fegatofeel overwhelming negative emotion
Polish zadręczać się, zadręczyć się
- zadręczać sięfeel overwhelming negative emotion
- zadręczyć sięfeel overwhelming negative emotion
Portuguese morrer de inveja
- morrer de invejafeel overwhelming negative emotion
Romanian muri de ciudă, crăpa de ciudă
- muri de ciudăfeel overwhelming negative emotion
- crăpa de ciudăfeel overwhelming negative emotion
- băga unghia în gâtfeel overwhelming negative emotion
Russian горева́ть, печа́литься
- горева́ть (gorevátʹ)feel overwhelming negative emotion
- печа́литься (pečálitʹsja)feel overwhelming negative emotion
Swedish slänga sig i väggen
- slänga sig i väggenfeel overwhelming negative emotion
Cite this entry
eat one's heart out. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20heart%20out
“eat one's heart out.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20heart%20out. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eat one's heart out,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20heart%20out.
Source: eat one's heart out on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.