eat
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Old English etan, from Proto-Germanic *itan-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed-. Cognate with Scots aet, Dutch eten, German essen, and Swedish äta, and (from IE) with Ancient Greek ἔδω (edō), Latin edō, Russian есть, and Lithuanian ésti.
[edit] Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA: /iːt/, SAMPA: /i:t/
- (US) IPA: /it/, SAMPA: /it/
- Audio (US)help, file
- Audio (UK)help, file
- Rhymes: -iːt
[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to eat (third-person singular simple present eats, present participle eating, simple past ate, past participle eaten)
- (ambitransitive) To consume (something solid or semi-solid, usually food) by putting it into the mouth and swallowing it.
- He’s eating an apple.
- Don’t disturb me now; can't you see that I’m eating?
- (intransitive) To consume a meal.
- What time do we eat this evening?
- (intransitive, ergative) To be eaten.
- The soup that eats like a meal.
- (transitive) To destroy, consume, or use up
- This project is eating up all the money.
- (transitive, informal) To cause (someone) to worry.
- What’s eating you?
- (transitive, business) To take the loss in a transaction.
- It’s a special order, so we can’t send it back; if the customer won’t accept it, we’ll have to eat the forty tons of steel ourselves.
- I have to have him in court tomorrow, if he doesn't show up, I forfeit the bond and I have to eat the $300,000 - From the movie Midnight Run
- (ambitransitive) To corrode or erode.
- The acid rain ate away the statue.
- The strong acid eats through the metal.
- (transitive, informal, of an electronic device) To damage, destroy, or fail to eject a removable part or an inserted object.
- The VHS recorder just ate the tape and won't spit it out.
- John is late for the meeting because the photocopier ate his report.
- (transitive, informal, of a vending machine or similar device) To consume money or (other instruments of value, such as a token) deposited or inserted by a user, while failing to either provide the intended product or service, or return the payment.
- The video game in the corner just ate my quarter.
- (transitive, informal, vulgar) To perform oral sex on someone.
- Eat me!
[edit] Synonyms
- (consume): consume, swallow
- (cause to worry): bother, disturb, worry
- (eat a meal): dine, breakfast, chow down, have one's breakfast/lunch/dinner/supper/tea, lunch
[edit] Derived terms
Terms derived from the verb "eat"
[edit] Translations
consume
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colloquial: cause to worry
eat a meal
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[edit] See also
[edit] Anagrams
[edit] Latin
[edit] Verb
eat
- third-person singular present active subjunctive of eō.
[edit] West Frisian
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /jɛt/
[edit] Pronoun
eat
