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
nounPeople Are Reading
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
-
Meanwhile, the newspapers' trade group, after years of the industry watching Facebook and Google devour its ad revenues, now wants an antitrust exemption from Congress to bargain collectively with the two giants and others.
-
In the presence of fibrils, up to five times more sperm cells were devoured than in the absence of fibrils.
-
Inevitably, a lot of vehicles aren’t built in the company’s home market, but the alternative is being a little fish in a big pond, prey that may be devoured at any time.
-
Thatcher loved the British spy services and devoured their reporting obsessively.
-
Erace said his son Joey devours the sport and pushes himself to play and train, not the other way around.
-
Zan's only got 48 hours left to live before she's devoured by her creator.
-
Or maybe breakfast is just the last meal to be devoured by the delivery revolution in food.
-
A response for retail How can China’s retail incumbents avoid being devoured by today’s disruptors?
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
DEVOUR Defined for Kids
devour
playDefinition 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.
Learn More about devour
-
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for devour Spanish Central: Translation of devour Nglish: Translation of devour for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of devour for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up devour? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!