Synonyms of eat

eat 1 of 2

verb (1)

ˈēt 

1

as in to consume

to take in as food

having gone all day without food, we greedily ate the hamburgers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• consume
• chew
• devour
• lick
• swallow
• ingest
• partake (of)
• digest
• taste
• tuck (away or in)
• put away
• dine
• put down
• mouth (down)
• savor
• pick (at)
• scoff
• munch
• relish
• wolf
• savour
• breakfast
• gulp
• gobble (up or down)
• snack
• gorge
• feast
• nibble (on)
• chow (down on)
• slop
• gnaw (at or on)
• lunch
• gum
• swill
• glut (on)
• down
• fare
• banquet
• lap
• snarf (down)
• sup
• regale
• polish off
• nurse
• bolt
• pig out
• nosh
• gormandize
• dispatch

2

as in to erode

to consume or wear away gradually

the pot's protective coating was eaten away by the acid

Synonyms & Similar Words

• erode
• bite (at)
• destroy
• gnaw
• nibble
• corrode
• decompose
• fret
• dissolve
• ruin
• disintegrate
• waste
• wreck
• break down
• break up
• decimate
• devastate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restore
• recreate
• regenerate
• revive
• renew
• refresh
• freshen
• revitalize
• rejuvenate
• refreshen

3

as in to dine

to take a meal

where's the best place to eat in this town?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dine
• feed
• snack
• feast
• partake
• nibble
• fare
• refresh
• break bread
• lunch
• breakfast
• victual
• picnic
• overeat
• banquet
• graze
• gorge
• overfeed
• chow (down)
• pick
• dine out
• glut
• board
• mess
• repast
• dig in
• nosh
• sup
• pig out
• gormandize

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• diet
• fast

4

as in to bother

to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts

it really eats me the way people go to national parks to enjoy nature—and then leave their litter behind

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bother
• annoy
• bug
• get
• irritate
• persecute
• aggravate
• wear on
• get to
• worry
• burn (up)
• put out
• spite
• itch
• grate
• frost
• anger
• tease
• exasperate
• gall
• ruffle
• nettle
• hack (off)
• rile
• plague
• vex
• irk
• infuriate
• gripe
• provoke
• chafe
• rasp
• pique
• rub the wrong way
• peeve
• stick in one's craw
• insult
• set one's teeth on edge
• nark
• get one's goat
• harass
• upset
• offend
• get on one's nerves
• nag
• devil
• heckle
• rouse
• bait
• exercise
• pester
• enrage
• hassle
• antagonize
• inflame
• enflame
• badger
• agitate
• harry
• discomfort
• distress
• incense
• ballyrag
• outrage
• rankle
• unsettle
• bullyrag
• discompose
• perturb
• undo
• roil
• unhinge
• fret
• affront
• disquiet
• hagride
• madden
• freak (out)
• miff

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• appease
• placate
• oblige
• please
• pacify
• satisfy
• conciliate
• gratify
• delight
• propitiate
• assure
• mollify
• comfort
• cheer
• content
• reassure
• quiet
• soothe
• console
• gladden
• solace

eat (up)

2 of 2

verb (2)

1

as in to welcome

to receive or accept gladly or readily

predictably, moviegoers ate up the sequel to last summer's blockbuster

Synonyms & Similar Words

• welcome
• embrace
• drink (in)
• lap (up)
• greet
• enjoy
• like
• take up
• hail
• adopt
• choose
• prefer
• espouse
• decide (on)
• select
• pick
• opt (for)
• elect
• single (out)
• take
• name
• cull
• handpick
• cherry-pick

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pass up
• refuse
• reject
• turn down
• decline
• balk (at)
• object (to)
• throw over
• spurn
• demur (to)

2

as in to ruin

to destroy all trace of

the surf created by a powerful hurricane could really eat up what's left of the island's eastern beach

Synonyms & Similar Words

• consume
• ruin
• devour
• use up
• demolish
• drain
• wreck
• eradicate
• wipe out
• devastate
• shatter
• deplete
• spend
• stamp (out)
• extinguish
• exhaust
• gut
• tear down
• blot out
• expend
• desolate
• waste
• remove
• obliterate
• extirpate
• exterminate
• annihilate
• smash
• rub out
• decimate
• pulverize
• do in
• raze

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protect
• save
• preserve
• build
• raise
• conserve
• construct
• put up
• erect

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of eat

Verb

Chang grew up so poor in a Chinese village that his mother sometimes went without food so her children could eat. —Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 23 Mar. 2025

Let students reach for their phones in the hallways, or while eating, or in homeroom, or whatever. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2025

Chomps' manufacturer recalled nearly 30,000 ready-to-eat beef sticks after customers reported metal in the product. —Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025

In the series, produced by Imagine Entertainment, Blaine travels all over the world to meet with people from different cultures who perform remarkable feats of endurance, from eating nails to lighting themselves on fire. —Jenelle Riley, Variety, 22 Mar. 2025

Phrases Containing eat

• eat (up)
• eat alive
• eat one's heart out