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 of devour

• consume

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

There are now as many games as there are phones; what used to be a feast that everyone devoured together has been divvied up into a gazillion little snacks gobbled down willy-nilly. —Rand Richards Cooper, Hartford Courant, 8 Jan. 2026

Take the quiz here … OUT OF NOWHERE – Freediver freezes as massive whale erupts to devour sardine bait ball. —FOXNews.com, 5 Jan. 2026

As Joanna has documented in the past, her Christmas tree will serve as food for her goats, who devour the pine tree. —Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025

By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters Tools that power artificial intelligence devour energy. —Calmatters, Mercury News, 29 Dec. 2025

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

Rhymes for devour

• bower
• cower
• dour
• flour
• flower
• fower
• glower
• hour
• our
• power
• scour
• shower

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