Hear it pronouncedeat
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[ English
| Rank of this word in the English language, from analyzing texts from Project Gutenberg. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| modern | medium | ill | #842: eat | et | scene | hot |
[ 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 ем, and Lithuanian ésti.
[ Pronunciation
[ Verb
|
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 I’m eating?
- (intransitive) To consume a meal.
- What time do we eat this evening?
- (transitive, colloquial) To cause (someone) to worry.
- What’s eating you?
- (transitive, business) To take the loss in a transaction.
- It’s a special order, we can’t send it back; if the customer won’t accept it, we’ll have to eat thee 40 tons of steel ourselves.
[ 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
[ Derived terms
Derived terms
[ See also
[ Translations
consume
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colloquial: cause to worry
eat a meal
[ Anagrams
[ West Frisian
[ Pronoun
eat