gobble up

verb

To consume [something] rapidly.

“The city grew over the years by gobbling up land around its limits.”

Similar
forslinggarbage downshovel inbolt down
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Meanings

verbgobble up (third-person singular simple present gobbles up, present participle gobbling up, simple past and past participle gobbled up)

present singular third person gobbles up · participle present gobbling up · participle past gobbled up · past gobbled up

  1. transitiveTo consume [something] rapidly.

    supper gobbled up in haste

    1728, Jonathan Swift, The Journal of a Modern Lady

    Synonyms: forsling

  2. broadlyfigurativelyTo continually absorb or expand through annexation.

    The city grew over the years by gobbling up land around its limits.

    1 more example

    […] institutional investors keep gobbling up tech, since those that shunned US tech stocks in the past suffered a “bug zapper” of underperformance, said Michael Cembalest of JPMorgan.

    2026 July 17, Gillian Tett, “The dangers of investor fatalism”, in Financial Times

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo consume [something] rapidly.

Similar
forsling

More synonyms by meaning

verbeat a large amount of food quickly

Similar
garbage downshovel inbolt down
Broader
eat
Also see
bolt downgobble downscarf downsnaffle upwolf down

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Finnish ahmia, hotkia
  • ahmiato consume rapidly
  • hotkiato consume rapidly
  • ahnehtiato consume rapidly
  • appaato consume rapidly
  • haukatato continually absorb or expand through annexation
French goinfrer
  • goinfrerto consume rapidly
German herunterschlingen, verschlingen
  • herunterschlingento consume rapidly
  • verschlingento continually absorb or expand through annexation
Icelandic háma í sig, úða í sig
  • háma í sigto consume rapidly
  • úða í sigto consume rapidly
  • hakka í sigto consume rapidly
  • spæna í sigto consume rapidly
  • hesthúsato consume rapidly
Irish plac
  • placto consume rapidly
Latin tuburcinor
  • tuburcinorto consume rapidly
Polish pałaszować, spałaszować
  • pałaszowaćto consume rapidly
  • spałaszowaćto consume rapidly
  • pożeraćto consume rapidly
  • pożrećto consume rapidly
  • pochłaniaćto continually absorb or expand through annexation
  • pochłonąćto continually absorb or expand through annexation
Russian поглощать
  • поглощать (pogloščatʹ)to consume rapidly
Swedish glufsa i sig
  • glufsa i sigto consume rapidly
Cite this entry
APA

gobble up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gobble%20up

MLA

“gobble up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gobble%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gobble up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gobble%20up.

Source: gobble up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.