Eat
/iːt/
Definitions
2 meaningsTo consume food by chewing and swallowing.
/iːt/
To take food or drink into the mouth and swallow it.
She eats an apple every day.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're really hungry! 'Eat' means to put food in your mouth and chew it to get energy. Like when you're enjoying a pizza!
👶 For kids: To put food in your mouth and chew it so your body can get energy!
More Examples
They eat dinner at 7 PM.
We eat lunch together in the cafeteria.
How It's Used
"I eat breakfast every morning."
"The chef demonstrated how to eat the dish properly."
To diminish or use up something.
/iːt/
To use up or consume.
The forest fire ate through acres of land.
💡 Simply: Sometimes 'eat' can mean to use something up! Like, "The storm ate away at the beach."
👶 For kids: To use something until it's gone, like the sun eating away at the snow.
More Examples
The costs are eating into our profits.
The dog ate my homework.
How It's Used
"The fire will eat through the forest."
"The project will eat into our budget"
Idioms & expressions
eat your words
To admit that you were wrong about something.
"After the team won, the critic had to eat his words."
eat someone out of house and home
To eat so much food that you use up all someone's resources.
"The children eat us out of house and home! "
From Old English *etan*, from Proto-Germanic *etaną* (compare German *essen*), from Proto-Indo-European *ed-*.
Used extensively throughout history in literature and daily speech to describe the act of consuming food.
Memory tip
Think of an 'e' and 'at' - you 'e'at something.