eat

eat
/i:t/ verb past tense ate /et,eIt/ past participle eaten
1 FOOD
a) (I, T) to put food in your mouth and swallow it: Vegetarians don't eat meat. | something to eat (=some food): Would you like something to eat? | eat like a bird (=eat very little) | eat like a horse (=eat a lot) | eat right AmE (=eat food that keeps you health) | I couldn't eat another thing spoken (=I am full)
b) (I) to have a meal: We usually eat at seven. | Do you want to eat at Musso's Restaurant before the movie? | eat out (=have a meal in a restaurant, not at home): Do you fancy eating out tonight?
2 eat your heart out
a) used to compare two things and say that one is much better: He's the new teen idol - eat your heart out, Michael Jackson!
b) BrE to be unhappy about something or to want someone or something very much: She's not coming back so it's no use lying here eating your heart out.
3 eat sb alive/eat sb for breakfast to be very angry with someone, especially someone that you have power over: You can't tell him that - he'll eat you alive!
4 eat sb out of house and home humorous to eat a lot of someone's supply of food, so that they have to buy more
5 eat crow AmE also eat humble pie to be forced to admit that you were wrong and say that you are sorry
6 have sb eating out of your hand to have made someone very willing to believe you or do what you want: The clients were suspicious at first, but he soon had them eating out of his hand.
7 what's eating him/her/you? spoken used to ask why someone seems annoyed or upset: What's eating Sally today? She just yelled at me.
8 eat your words to admit that what you said was wrong: I had to eat my words when he turned up on time after all.
9 I could eat a horse spoken used to say you are very hungry
10 I'll eat my hat spoken old-fashioned used to say that you think something is not true or will not happen: If the Democrats win the election, I'll eat my hat!
11 USE/DAMAGE (intransitive always + adv/prep, transitive) to damage, destroy, or use a lot of something: Work alone ate 72 hours of my week.
—see also: eats eat sth away phrasal verb (T) to gradually remove or reduce the amount of something: The wooden parts had been eaten away by damp. eat away at sth/sb phrasal verb (T)
1 to gradually remove or reduce the amount of something: Rust had eaten away at the metal frame.
2 to make someone feel very worried over a long period of time: The thought of mother alone like that was eating away at her.
eat into sth phrasal verb (T)
1 to gradually reduce the amount of time, money etc that is available: All these car expenses are eating into our savings.
2 to damage or destroy something: Acid eats into the metal, damaging its surface.
eat up phrasal verb
1 (intransitive, transitive eat something up) especially spoken to eat all of something: Come on, eat it up, there's a good girl.
2 (transitive eat something up) informal to use all of something until it is gone: A big car just eats up money.
3 be eaten up with jealousy/anger/curiosity etc to be very jealous, angry etc, so that you cannot think about anything else

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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  • eat — W1S1 [i:t] v past tense ate [et, eıt US eıt] past participle eaten [ˈi:tn] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(food)¦ 2¦(meal)¦ 3 eat your words 4 eat your heart out 5 eat somebody alive/eat somebody for breakfast 6¦(use)¦ 7 eat humble pie …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • eat — [ it ] (past tense ate [ eıt ] ; past participle eat|en [ itn ] ) verb intransitive or transitive *** to put food into your mouth and swallow it: We sat on the grass and ate our sandwiches. Don t talk while you re eating. I ve eaten too much.… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Eat — ([=e]t), v. t. [imp. {Ate} ([=a]t; 277), Obsolescent & Colloq. {Eat} ([e^]t); p. p. {Eaten} ([=e]t n), Obs. or Colloq. {Eat} ([e^]t); p. pr. & vb. n. {Eating}.] [OE. eten, AS. etan; akin to OS. etan, OFries. eta, D. eten, OHG. ezzan, G. essen,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Eat — ([=e]t), v. t. [imp. {Ate} ([=a]t; 277), Obsolescent & Colloq. {Eat} ([e^]t); p. p. {Eaten} ([=e]t n), Obs. or Colloq. {Eat} ([e^]t); p. pr. & vb. n. {Eating}.] [OE. eten, AS. etan; akin to OS. etan, OFries. eta, D. eten, OHG. ezzan, G. essen,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Eat — ([=e]t), v. t. [imp. {Ate} ([=a]t; 277), Obsolescent & Colloq. {Eat} ([e^]t); p. p. {Eaten} ([=e]t n), Obs. or Colloq. {Eat} ([e^]t); p. pr. & vb. n. {Eating}.] [OE. eten, AS. etan; akin to OS. etan, OFries. eta, D. eten, OHG. ezzan, G. essen,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • eat — ► VERB (past ate; past part. eaten) 1) put (food) into the mouth and chew and swallow it. 2) (eat out or in) have a meal in a restaurant (or at home). 3) (eat something away or eat away at/into) gradually erode or des …   English terms dictionary

  • Eat Me — Eat Me, Drink Me Eat Me, Drink Me студийный альбом Marilyn Manson Дата выпуска …   Википедия

  • Eat — Eat, v. i. 1. To take food; to feed; especially, to take solid, in distinction from liquid, food; to board. [1913 Webster] He did eat continually at the king s table. 2 Sam. ix. 13. [1913 Webster] 2. To taste or relish; as, it eats like tender… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Eat Me — Eat Me, Drink Me Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Eat Me, Drink Me Álbum de estudio de Marilyn Manson Publicación …   Wikipedia Español

  • eat — (v.) O.E. etan (class V strong verb; past tense æt, pp. eten) to eat, devour, consume, from P.Gmc. *etanan (Cf. O.Fris. ita, O.S. etan, M.Du. eten, Du. eten, O.H.G. ezzan, Ger. essen, O.N. eta, Goth. itan), from PIE root …   Etymology dictionary

  • eat — [ēt] vt. ate [āt; ] Brit usually [ et] eaten [ēt′ n] eating [ME eten < OE etan, akin to Ger essen < IE base * ed , to eat > L edere, Gr edmenai] 1. to put (food) in the mouth, chew if necessary, and swallow 2. to use up, devour, destroy …   English World dictionary

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