devour

verb de·vour \ di-ˈvau̇(-ə)r , dē- \

Updated on: 13 Jan 2018

Definition of devour

transitive verb

1 : to eat up greedily or ravenously

devoured the turkey and mashed potatoes

2 : to use up or destroy as if by eating

We are devouring the world's resources.

3 : to prey upon

devoured by guilt

4 : to enjoy avidly

devours books

—

devourer

noun

See devour defined for English-language learners

See devour defined for kids

Examples of devour in a Sentence

He devoured everything on his plate.
The lions devoured their prey.
She devoured every golf magazine she could find.
He watched intently, devouring the scene before him with his eyes.

Recent Examples of devour from the Web

Hogs can devour entire stretches of corn fields and are adept at finding and snacking on food left out by hunters to attract deer to their land.

— sammy fretwell, charlotteobserver, "Is poisonous ‘nasty salt’ the cure for South Carolina’s wild hog problem?," 23 Dec. 2017
The Art of Topiary will stick with you long after its poems have been thoroughly devoured.

— the editors, The Atlantic, "The Best Books We Read in 2017," 22 Dec. 2017
On a frozen lake in northern Indiana, two brothers caught a strange sight while out ice fishing: the tail end of a bass protruding from the surface, its front half being devoured by a pike fish below the ice.

— elaina zachos, National Geographic, "7 Times Animals Bit Off More Than They Could Chew in 2017," 21 Dec. 2017
One, this is a fairy tale, and Snow White doesn’t divorce Prince Charming, and an elderly Goldilocks doesn’t end up being devoured by a ravenous Baby Bear (perhaps a sequel trilogy was a bad idea from the get-go).

— simon abrams, The Hollywood Reporter, "2 Generations of Fans Debate 'The Last Jedi'," 19 Dec. 2017
The 11-day-old Thomas Fire surging through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties had devoured some 400 square miles of brush and timber and burned more than 1,000 buildings, including well over 750 homes.

— CBS News, "Thomas Fire in California continues to grow, threaten thousands of homes," 16 Dec. 2017
The 11-day-old Thomas fire surging through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties had devoured some 400 square miles of brush and timber and burned more than 1,000 buildings, including well over 750 homes.

— Washington Post, "The Latest: California fire growing toward celebrity enclave," 16 Dec. 2017
Los Angeles Times In Ventura: A week after the Thomas fire swept through Ventura, devouring hundreds of hillside homes and masking the town in a thick, yellow-brown smoke, residents began the long process of recovering.

— benjamin oreskes, latimes.com, "Essential California: Inside Disney's blockbuster deal," 15 Dec. 2017
Now, a new wave of wildfires in Southern California, which by Friday had devoured about 132,000 acres, may also help push 2017 into the top spot.

— hanna krueger, NBC News, "Billion-dollar climate disasters devastate and drain the nation," 9 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'devour.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of devour

Middle English, from Anglo-French devour-, stem of devorer, from Latin devorare, from de- + vorare to devour — more at voracious

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

devour Synonyms

Synonyms

consume, eat (up)

Antonyms

renew, replace

Related Words

gut; deplete, drain, exhaust, expend, spend, use up; annihilate, decimate, demolish, desolate, devastate, do in, pulverize, raze, ruin, shatter, smash, tear down, waste, wreck; annihilate, blot out, eradicate, exterminate, extinguish, extirpate, obliterate, remove, rub out, stamp (out), wipe out

Near Antonyms

conserve, preserve, protect, save; build, construct, erect, put up, raise

DEVOUR Defined for Kids

devour

verb de·vour \ di-ˈvau̇r \

Definition of devour for Students

devoured; devouring

1 : to eat up hungrily

2 : to take in eagerly by the senses or mind

He devoured the information.

3 : to destroy as if by eating

The buildings were devoured by flames.

Word Root of devour

The Latin word vorāre, meaning “to eat greedily,” gives us the root vor. Words from the Latin vorāre have something to do with eating. An herbivorous animal eats only plants. A carnivorous animal eats only other animals. To devour is to eat up greedily. Anyone voracious likes to eat a lot.