devour - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: devour

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

de·vour

Audio Help [di-vour] Pronunciation Key

–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; ME devouren < AF, OF devourer < L dévorāre to swallow down, equiv. to dé- de- + vorāre to eat up

]

—Related forms

de·vour·er, noun

de·vour·ing·ly, adverb

de·vour·ing·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
devour

To learn more about devour visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

de·vour Audio Help (dĭ-vour') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. de·voured, de·vour·ing, de·vours

To eat up greedily. See Synonyms at eat.
To destroy, consume, or waste: Flames devoured the structure in minutes.
To take in eagerly: devour a novel.
To prey upon voraciously: was devoured by jealousy.

[Middle English devouren, from Old French devourer, from Latin dēvorāre : dē-, de- + vorāre, to swallow.]

de·vour'er n., de·vour'ing·ly adv.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
devour

c.1315, from O.Fr. devorer, from L. devorare "swallow down," from de- "down" + vorare "swallow."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

devour
verb
1.	destroy completely; "Fire had devoured our home"
2.	enjoy avidly; "She devoured his novels"
3.	eat immoderately; "Some people can down a pound of meat in the course of one meal"
4.	eat greedily; "he devoured three sandwiches"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
devour [diˈvauə] verb

to eat up greedily
Example: The young zebra was devoured by a lion; She devoured the chocolates.

Arabic:	يَفْتَرِس، يَلْتَهِم
Chinese (Simplified):	狼吞虎咽
Chinese (Traditional):	狼吞虎咽
Czech:	sežrat, zhltnout
Danish:	sluge; fortære
Dutch:	verslinden
Estonian:	nahka panema
Finnish:	ahmaista
French:	dévorer
German:	verschlingen
Greek:	καταβροχθίζω
Hungarian:	elnyel
Icelandic:	éta, háma, gleypa í sig
Indonesian:	melahap
Italian:	divorare

Japanese:	がつがつ食べる
Korean:	게걸스레 먹다, 다 먹어치우다
Latvian:	rīt
Lithuanian:	(su)ryti
Norwegian:	sluke, kaste i seg, fortære
Polish:	pożerać
Portuguese (Brazil):	devorar
Portuguese (Portugal):	devorar
Romanian:	a devora; a mânca cu lăcomie
Russian:	пожирать
Slovak:	zhltnúť
Slovenian:	požreti
Spanish:	devorar
Swedish:	sluka
Turkish:	gövdeye indirmek, silip süpürmek