Synonyms of eat

eat 1 of 3

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 3

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

ate

3 of 3

verb (3)

past tense of eat

1

as in consumed

to take in as food

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• consumed
• devoured
• chewed
• licked
• ingested
• swallowed
• tasted
• tucked (away or in)
• partook (of)
• dined
• digested
• put away
• scoffed
• picked (at)
• wolfed
• gulped
• savored
• put down
• munched
• relished
• feasted
• savoured
• gorged
• downed
• slopped
• glutted (on)
• mouthed (down)
• supped
• gobbled (up or down)
• lunched
• gnawed (at or on)
• breakfasted
• nibbled (on)
• lapped
• bolted
• swilled
• snacked
• regaled
• fared
• gummed
• banqueted
• chowed (down on)
• snarfed (down)
• nursed
• noshed
• dispatched
• polished off
• pigged out
• gormandized

2

as in eroded

to consume or wear away gradually

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• eroded
• destroyed
• gnawed
• bit (at)
• nibbled
• corroded
• decomposed
• fretted
• ruined
• dissolved
• wrecked
• disintegrated
• wasted
• devastated
• decimated
• broke down
• broke up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restored
• revived
• recreated
• renewed
• refreshed
• regenerated
• freshened
• revitalized
• rejuvenated
• refreshened

3

as in dined

to take a meal

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dined
• feasted
• fed
• snacked
• partook
• nibbled
• fared
• refreshed
• victualled
• broke bread
• lunched
• picnicked
• banqueted
• gorged
• victualed
• breakfasted
• overate
• supped
• glutted
• overfed
• grazed
• messed
• picked
• dug in
• boarded
• noshed
• repasted
• dined out
• chowed (down)
• pigged out
• gormandized

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fasted
• dieted

4

as in annoyed

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

• annoyed
• bothered
• bugged
• got
• persecuted
• irritated
• aggravated
• itched
• grated
• got to
• wore on
• griped
• worried
• burned (up)
• teased
• burnt (up)
• put out
• frosted
• angered
• chafed
• irked
• hacked (off)
• vexed
• ruffled
• riled
• peeved
• rasped
• infuriated
• nettled
• exasperated
• spited
• provoked
• plagued
• galled
• piqued
• insulted
• narked
• rubbed the wrong way
• stuck in one's craw
• vext
• harassed
• got one's goat
• set one's teeth on edge
• nagged
• upset
• got on one's nerves
• offended
• heckled
• roused
• enraged
• exercised
• hassled
• pestered
• badgered
• enflamed
• inflamed
• baited
• deviled
• antagonized
• incensed
• unsettled
• devilled
• agitated
• rankled
• fretted
• harried
• perturbed
• distressed
• ballyragged
• outraged
• disquieted
• roiled
• maddened
• bullyragged
• discomforted
• affronted
• miffed
• hagrode
• undid
• discomposed
• freaked (out)
• unhinged

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• obliged
• appeased
• satisfied
• pacified
• pleased
• mollified
• delighted
• gratified
• placated
• assured
• cheered
• propitiated
• contented
• comforted
• conciliated
• reassured
• consoled
• soothed
• quieted
• gladdened
• solaced

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of eat

Verb

The casual restaurant and bar also offers an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at 8 a.m. Sundays. —Vickie Snow Jurkowski, Daily Southtown, 19 July 2017

Miami was last in the NFL at 57 plays per game last season partly because the offense didn’t convert effectively on third downs, but also because the porous run defense allowed opponents to eat up the clock. —Chris Perkins, Sun-Sentinel.com, 19 July 2017

Verb

Other health data, including waist circumference and lipid levels in the blood, were best for those participants who ate a moderate breakfast. —Katherine Hignett, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025

Sun then ate the banana at a buzzy press conference in Hong Kong. —Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 3 Jan. 2025

Phrases Containing eat

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