devour

verb de·vour \ di-ˈvau̇(-ə)r , dē- \

Updated on: 18 May 2018

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

The lava has already devoured more than two dozen homes in and around the neighborhood of Leilani Estates.

— carter evans, CBS News, "Lava from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano leaves path of destruction," 7 May 2018
Plus, three stages will host 30 live bands, and a Philly Taco Eating contest will pit a bunch of hungry competitors in a challenge to devour a Jim’s Cheesesteak wrapped inside a Lorenzo’s pizza slice.

— Philly.com, "South Street Spring Festival, Fishtown Flea, Sly Fox Bock Fest and Goat Race, and other fun happenings, May 4-11," 2 May 2018
In the meantime, pizza lovers can keep an eye on the museum's website and Instagram feed, which are currently filled with mysterious shots of several people, in varying states of undress, devouring slices of New York's finest.

— andrea park, Condé Nast Traveler, "NYC’s Latest Pop-Up Museum Is Dedicated to Pizza," 25 Apr. 2018
Among the advantages of joining up with a team like CGR is a surplus of experience to draw from and information to devour.

— jim ayello, Indianapolis Star, "Dario Franchitti dedicated to helping Ed Jones blossom into next CGR star," 20 Apr. 2018
The plane went down in a field just outside a military base in Boufarik, 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Algiers, and was devoured by flames, killing 247 passengers and 10 crew members, the Defense Ministry said.

— Bloomberg.com, "Algerian Military Plane Crashes in a Field, Killing 257," 11 Apr. 2018
On a lighter note, meet the vampire frog that devours its mother's eggs.

— matt simon, WIRED, "Some Frogs May Be Developing a Resistance to the Disastrous Chytrid Fungus," 29 Mar. 2018
Nicely dressed dates pull on bibs and plastic gloves to devour messes of seafood and sip Hurricanes.

— devra first, BostonGlobe.com, "Consider the crawfish at Bootleg Special," 15 Mar. 2018
But for these chefs, none of that matters unless diners are inclined to devour every bite.

— kitty greenwald, WSJ, "Mushroom, Tahini and Poached-Egg Toast From the Chefs at Botanica," 26 Apr. 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.

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.