devour

verb

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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

Other Words from devour Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about devour

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Synonyms for devour

Synonyms

consume,
eat (up)

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 If nothing changes, this doomsday machine will devour the country’s foreign exchange. — Jacques De Larosière And Steve H. Hanke, WSJ, "Lebanon Could Use a Currency Board," 21 Apr. 2021 Some expert warn that rising sea levels could devour much of its vast coastal region, and cyclones and tidal surge destroy agriculture and livelihood for millions. — BostonGlobe.com, "US envoy Kerry discusses climate challenges in Bangladesh," 10 Apr. 2021 The idea is that abnormally huge valuations relative to GDP can only stay at those levels, let alone wax from there, if future earnings also soar to devour a much-bigger-than-normal slice of national income. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, "With the S&P 500 above 4,000 the ‘Buffett Indicator’ is wildly out of whack," 5 Apr. 2021 People devour it the same way the bear gobbled up all that cocaine. — Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, "Who is Cocaine Bear? Meet Kentucky's wildest, drug-fueled legend being turned into a movie," 11 Mar. 2021 Spread on some tartar sauce, squeeze it all together and devour it with two hands. — Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer, "Fish sandwich of the week: The cod sandwich at Arthur's," 5 Mar. 2021 Camara said San Antonio will feel the loss in the spring, a season when bats devour large numbers of insects at night. — Vincent T. Davis, San Antonio Express-News, "Winter storm devastated a San Antonio icon - Mexican free-tailed bats," 27 Feb. 2021 Followers and fans devour @zillowgonewild content with relish. — Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, "‘The Axe Body Spray of mansions’: Inside the zany Instagram world of Zillow Gone Wild," 21 Jan. 2021 Cetus was about to devour her when Perseus the Hero happened by on Pegasus, the Flying Horse. — Todd Nelson, Star Tribune, "Coldest Air of Winter On The Way," 1 Feb. 2021

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.