eat to live, not live to eat

proverb

It is best not to be gluttonous; eating shouldn't be one's favorite activity, but one should eat only to supply health.

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Meanings

proverb

alternative live not to eat, but eat to live

  1. imperativemedicineIt is best not to be gluttonous; eating shouldn't be one's favorite activity, but one should eat only to supply health.

    Balance can be used to heighten matched pairs of ideas, as in the maxim "one should eat to live, not live to eat."

    2013, Carl H. Klaus, A Self Made of Words: Crafting a Distinctive Persona in Nonfiction Writing, →ISBN

Origin

Often attributed to Socrates and Benjamin Franklin.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

eat to live, not live to eat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20to%20live%2C%20not%20live%20to%20eat

MLA

“eat to live, not live to eat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20to%20live%2C%20not%20live%20to%20eat. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eat to live, not live to eat,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20to%20live%2C%20not%20live%20to%20eat.

Source: eat to live, not live to eat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.