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

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, 17 Apr. 2026

Some seeds get devoured by their parent star; some seeds get ejected from their stellar system; some seeds get swallowed by other seeds; some seeds get blasted apart by further interactions. —Big Think, 17 Apr. 2026

When Bastian ducks into a bookstore and starts reading a book about a malevolent force (the Nothing) devouring the realm of Fantasia, the narrative comes to life. —David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Apr. 2026

Many new viewers devoured the show in one go ahead of the second season, which has aired weekly since January. —Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026

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