devour

verb

de·vour | \ di-ˈvau̇(-ə)r

, dē-\

devoured; devouring; devours

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

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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 on the Web

First discovered in 1799, the invasive species was the bane of seamen everywhere because of their tendency to devour wood. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "The Gribble Worm Could Hold Secrets for Cheaper Renewable Energy," 5 Dec. 2018 The ant queen has been eating humans and producing human-sized ants that then go out and collect more humans to devour. — Verge Staff, The Verge, "Smart scares for smart people," 31 Oct. 2018 Another features the family seated at a picnic table covered with brown paper and disposable cups, staring at the camera while leaning toward a pile of soon-to-be devoured crabs. — Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Washington Post, "‘All gone in the blink of an eye’: Woman survives crash that killed her husband and 4 daughters," 8 July 2018 Her film Bao is showing before Pixar’s blockbuster Incredibles 2 and explores the impulse to devour cute things. — Claire Zillman, Fortune, "Kirstjen Nielsen and Ivanka Trump on Border Separations, Katrina Lake's Pregnancy: Broadsheet June 19," 19 June 2018 My only defense is that the offerings are too rich to be devoured whole. — Charles Desmarais, San Francisco Chronicle, "Three SF galleries under the radar but worth seeking out," 16 May 2018 Leftovers can be devoured for breakfast the following morning. — Time, "Weekend Recipe: Warm Rhubarb and Vanilla Crumble," 11 Jan. 2018 Not the usual fare from the romance queen, but that didn’t stop me from devouring it. — Anne Dunlap, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Hurricane guide: What's on my reading list," 30 May 2018 Let’s be real, though: the success of the former First Lady’s memoir is not a shock to anyone who has devoured the book since its release. — Tess Garcia, Teen Vogue, "Michelle Obama's Memoir "Becoming" Is Already the Best-Selling Hardcover Book of 2018," 1 Dec. 2018

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.