de·vour

[dih-vou-uhr, -vou-er]
verb (used with object)
1.
to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.
2.
to consume destructively, recklessly, or wantonly: Fire devoured the old museum.
3.
to engulf or swallow up.
4.
to take in greedily with the senses or intellect: to devour the works of Freud.
5.
to absorb or engross wholly: a mind devoured by fears.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English devouren < Anglo-French, Old French devourer < Latin dēvorāre to swallow down, equivalent to dē- de- + vorāre to eat up

de·vour·er, noun
de·vour·ing·ly, adverb
de·vour·ing·ness, noun
in·ter·de·vour, verb (used with object)
pre·de·vour, verb (used with object)
re·de·vour, verb (used with object)
self-de·vour·ing, adjective
un·de·voured, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To devour
00:10
Devour is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to bark; yelp.
Collins
World English Dictionary
devour (dɪˈvaʊə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to swallow or eat up greedily or voraciously
2.  to waste or destroy; consume: the flames devoured the curtains
3.  to consume greedily or avidly with the senses or mind: he devoured the manuscripts
4.  to engulf or absorb: the flood devoured the land
 
[C14: from Old French devourer, from Latin dēvorāre to gulp down, from de- + vorāre to consume greedily; see voracious]
 
de'vourer
 
n
 
de'vouring
 
adj
 
de'vouringly
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

devour
early 14c., from O.Fr. devorer, from L. devorare "swallow down," from de- "down" + vorare "swallow" (see voracious).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Serious foodies will devour this memoir.
But then the animal should not really even have been whimpering: predators
  might notice and devour it.
Algae not only reduce a plant's global warming gases, but also devour other
  pollutants.
Flocks of cedar waxwings congregate to devour the fruits.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT