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

• consume
• eat (up)

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

Fishing is the largest export in the country, but that doesn’t mean locals aren’t devouring it by the shipful. —Claire Volkman, Vogue, 7 Jan. 2025

More than a billion years ago a hungry cell devoured a tiny blue-green algae. —Saugat Bolakhe, Scientific American, 7 Jan. 2025

Shafak’s words slice through centuries of rosy myths about motherhood, exposing the raw terror that biological creation might devour its artistic sister. —Fidan Cheikosman, JSTOR Daily, 1 Jan. 2025

In 2014, for instance, one researcher was astonished to watch a single sea otter devour roughly 30 European green crabs in an hour, per the Washington Post. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Dec. 2024

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

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