devour

verb de·vour \ di-ˈvau̇(-ə)r , dē- \

|Updated on: 13 Jul 2018

Examples: devour in a Sentence

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

In any event, a book by the real Nakamoto would be devoured by Bitcoin enthusiasts around the world.

— Fortune, "Unknown Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Might Be Writing a Book," 30 June 2018
Another 2,000 people have already been evacuated from Leilani Estates, an area further west where dozens of homes have been devoured or cut off by rivers of lava streaming over the landscape since May 3.

— author: terray sylvester, Anchorage Daily News, "Three people trapped by lava airlifted to safety near Hawaii volcano," 4 June 2018
He or another volunteer doused the flames that devoured a pile of railroad ties in our yard, flames that could have laddered up our brush hill and laced fingers through the railings of the porch.

— kendra atleework, The Atlantic, "Power Lines Are Burning the West," 25 May 2018
Biscuits were on the menu, boosted by the addition of Jo's strawberry shortcake, which the ladies happily devoured at the end of the clip.

— perri ormont blumberg, Southern Living, "Joanna Gaines Welcomes Jenna Bush Hager into Her Waco Home," 16 May 2018
Buy Photo Among a certain set of Philadelphia urbanists who devour websites like Hidden City, Naked City, and Property, the work of GroJLart has long been required reading.

— inga saffron, Philly.com, "What's the connection between a Philly blogger and the demolition of the Washington Ave. chocolate factory? | Inga Saffron," 3 May 2018
Hungry, some would say gluttonous, Astros fans devoured 43,000 hot dogs at that game.

— craig hlavaty, Houston Chronicle, "Fun facts about Dollar Hot Dog Night at Minute Maid Park," 23 Apr. 2018
That raises an important question: What happens to the information a black hole devours?

— juquai mcduffie, Popular Mechanics, "How Black Holes Might Someday Delete the Universe," 24 Aug. 2017
For over 40 years, Nick Rangos, a local caterer from Aiken, South Carolina, was the man responsible for making the pimento cheese that the patrons at the Masters devoured year after year.

— lyndsey matthews, Town & Country, "The Legend Behind the South’s Best Pimento Cheese," 10 Apr. 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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

devour Synonyms

Phrases

run out of;

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.