eat (?t)v. ate (?t), eat·en (?t?n), eat·ing, eats v.tr.1. a. To take into the body by the mouth for digestion or absorption.b. To take in and absorb as food: a plant that eats insects; a cell that eats bacteria.c. To include habitually or by preference in one’s diet: a bird that eats insects, fruit, and seeds; stopped eating red meat on advice from her doctor.2. To destroy, ravage, or use up by or as if by ingesting: “Covering news in the field eats money” (George F. Will).3. To erode or corrode: waves that ate away the beach; an acid that eats the surface of a machine part.4. To produce by eating: Moths ate holes in our sweaters.5. Slang To absorb the cost or expense of: “You can eat your loss and switch the remaining money to other investment portfolios” (Marlys Harris).6. Informal To bother or annoy: What’s eating him?7. Vulgar slang To perform cunnilingus or anilingus on. Often used with out.v.intr.1. a. To consume food.b. To have or take a meal.2. To exercise a consuming or eroding effect: a drill that ate away at the rock; exorbitant expenses that were eating into profits.3. To cause persistent annoyance or distress: “How long will it be before the frustration eats at you?” (Howard Kaplan).Phrasal Verb: eat up Slang 1. To receive or enjoy enthusiastically or avidly: She really eats up the publicity.2. To believe without question: He’ll eat up whatever the broker tells him.Idioms: eat crow To be forced to accept a humiliating defeat. eat (one’s) heart out1. To feel bitter anguish or grief.2. To be consumed by jealousy. eat (one’s) words To retract something that one has said. eat out of (someone’s) hand To be manipulated or dominated by another. eat (someone) alive Slang To overwhelm or defeat thoroughly: an inexperienced manager who was eaten alive in a competitive corporate environment.[Middle English eten, from Old English etan; see ed- in Indo-European roots.]eat?er n.Synonyms: eat, consume, devour, ingest These verbs mean to take food into the body by the mouth: ate a hearty dinner; greedily consumed the sandwich; hyenas devouring their prey; whales ingesting krill.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.eat (i?t) vb, eats, eating, ate or eaten1. (Physiology) to take into the mouth and swallow (food, etc), esp after biting and chewing2. (tr; often foll by away or up) to destroy as if by eating: the damp had eaten away the woodwork. 3. (often foll by into) to use up or waste: taxes ate into his inheritance. 4. (often foll by: into or through) to make (a hole, passage, etc) by eating or gnawing: rats ate through the floor. 5. to take or have (a meal or meals): we always eat at six. 6. (tr) to include as part of one’s diet: he doesn’t eat fish. 7. (tr) informal to cause to worry; make anxious: what’s eating you?. 8. (tr) slang to perform cunnilingus or fellatio upon9. I’ll eat my hat if informal I will be greatly surprised if (something happens that proves me wrong)10. eat one’s heart out to brood or pine with grief or longing11. eat one’s words to take back something said; recant; retract12. eat out of someone’s hand to be entirely obedient to someone13. eat someone out of house and home to ruin someone, esp one’s parent or one’s host, by consuming all his food[Old English etan; related to Gothic itan, Old High German ezzan, Latin edere, Greek edein, Sanskrit admi] ?eater nEAT or EAZabbreviation forTanzania (international car registration)[from E(ast) A(frica) T(anganyika) or E(ast) A(frica) Z(anzibar)]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014eat (it) v. ate (e?t; esp. Brit. ?t) eat?en (?it n) eat?ing, v.t. 1. to take into the mouth and swallow for nourishment; chew and swallow (food). 2. to consume gradually; wear away; corrode. 3. to use up, esp. wastefully (often fol. by away, into, or up): Unexpected expenses ate up their savings. 4. to make (a hole, passage, etc.), as by gnawing or corrosion. 5. to ravage or devastate. 6. to absorb or pay for: The builder had to eat the cost of the repairs. 7. to cause anxiety or irritation in; worry; bother: What’s eating you now? v.i. 8. to consume food; have a meal. 9. to make a way, as by gnawing or corrosion: Acid ate through the linoleum. 10. eat in, to eat or dine at home. 11. eat out, to have a meal at a restaurant rather than at home. 12. eat up, a. to consume wholly. b. to show enthusiasm for; take pleasure in. c. to believe without question. n. 13. eats, Informal. food. [before 900; Middle English; Old English etan] eat?er, n. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.eatPast participle: eatenGerund: eatingImperativePresentPreteritePresent ContinuousPresent PerfectPast ContinuousPast PerfectFutureFuture PerfectFuture ContinuousPresent Perfect ContinuousFuture Perfect ContinuousPast Perfect ContinuousConditionalPast ConditionalImperativeeateatPresentI eatyou eathe/she/it eatswe eatyou eatthey eatPreteriteI ateyou atehe/she/it atewe ateyou atethey atePresent ContinuousI am eatingyou are eatinghe/she/it is eatingwe are eatingyou are eatingthey are eatingPresent PerfectI have eatenyou have eatenhe/she/it has eatenwe have eatenyou have eatenthey have eatenPast ContinuousI was eatingyou were eatinghe/she/it was eatingwe were eatingyou were eatingthey were eatingPast PerfectI had eatenyou had eatenhe/she/it had eatenwe had eatenyou had eatenthey had eatenFutureI will eatyou will eathe/she/it will eatwe will eatyou will eatthey will eatFuture PerfectI will have eatenyou will have eatenhe/she/it will have eatenwe will have eatenyou will have eatenthey will have eatenFuture ContinuousI will be eatingyou will be eatinghe/she/it will be eatingwe will be eatingyou will be eatingthey will be eatingPresent Perfect ContinuousI have been eatingyou have been eatinghe/she/it has been eatingwe have been eatingyou have been eatingthey have been eatingFuture Perfect ContinuousI will have been eatingyou will have been eatinghe/she/it will have been eatingwe will have been eatingyou will have been eatingthey will have been eatingPast Perfect ContinuousI had been eatingyou had been eatinghe/she/it had been eatingwe had been eatingyou had been eatingthey had been eatingConditionalI would eatyou would eathe/she/it would eatwe would eatyou would eatthey would eatPast ConditionalI would have eatenyou would have eatenhe/she/it would have eatenwe would have eatenyou would have eatenthey would have eatenCollins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011