devour
verb
de·vour
di-ˈvau̇(-ə)r 
dē-
devoured; devouring; devours
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
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
Slugs can devour seedlings overnight, eat the petals off flowers, and leave ugly holes in ripening fruits and vegetables.
—
Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 May 2025
The instant, ardent determination with which Anna devours Joseph’s letters and begins her affair with Oliver is the crux both of the story and of its form.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 28 May 2025
Baker spent her fifth-grade year devouring the guides Jacques’s mom and her own mother put together by hand, absorbing languages of origin and definitions and suffixes and prefixes.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 26 May 2025
Grounded by arresting performances by an elite cast and tied up in an aggressively perky bow by its excellent scripts, the spellbinding series begs to be devoured with haste.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for devour
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Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 May 2025
The instant, ardent determination with which Anna devours Joseph’s letters and begins her affair with Oliver is the crux both of the story and of its form.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 28 May 2025
Baker spent her fifth-grade year devouring the guides Jacques’s mom and her own mother put together by hand, absorbing languages of origin and definitions and suffixes and prefixes.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 26 May 2025
Grounded by arresting performances by an elite cast and tied up in an aggressively perky bow by its excellent scripts, the spellbinding series begs to be devoured with haste.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for devour
Cite this Entry
“Devour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devour. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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