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

So media outlets from across England and the world had convened to devour the scene of his arrival, only to be consumed themselves by the pure spectacle Mourinho generated. — Jack Holmes, Vanity Fair, 23 June 2026

Crime fiction aficionados are sure to devour this collection of six novellas from the bestselling author. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 21 June 2026

Artists Equity By the time Dunkin’ unveiled Carpenter’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso, more than 10 million users had already devoured the Instagram and TikTok teaser videos. — Danielle Directo-Meston, HollywoodReporter, 20 June 2026

There’s a snake devouring a frog whole. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 June 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