Meanings
verbeat one's terms (third-person singular simple present eats one's terms, present participle eating one's terms, simple past ate one's terms, past participle eaten one's terms)
present singular third person eats one's terms · participle present eating one's terms · past ate one's terms · participle past eaten one's terms
Origin
In allusion to the number of times in a term that a student must dine in the hall of an Inn of Court.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
eat one's terms. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20terms
MLA
“eat one's terms.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20terms. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eat one's terms,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20terms.
Source: eat one's terms on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.