devour

verb

de·​vour di-ˈvau̇(-ə)r 

dē-

devoured; devouring; devours

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

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

In particularly wet summers, such as those in recent years, slug populations can devour entire coleus plants. —Abigayle Ward, Hartford Courant, 20 July 2024

And we were getting devoured by substance abuse and stuff. —Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 11 July 2024

Fans of Nora Ephron and Joan Didion will devour this memoir of living with unapologetic joy. —Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 29 June 2024

In the wild, groundhogs feed on a variety of plants and some insects, but in gardens, groundhogs happily devour most vegetables, as well as fruit, bulbs, and tree bark. —Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

devour

verb

de·​vour di-ˈvau̇(ə)r 

1

: to eat up greedily or hungrily

devoured everything on his plate

2

: to use up or destroy as if by eating

fire devoured the barn

3

: to enjoy eagerly

devour a book