eat up
Slang Dictionary

eat (sth) definition


  1. tv.
    to consume something rapidly, such as food or money. : Running this household eats my income up.
  2. tv.
    to believe something. : Those people really eat that stuff up about tax reduction.
  3. tv.
    to appreciate something. : The stuff about the federal budget went over well. They really ate up the whole story.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Slang Dictionary

eat up definition


  1. in.
    to eat in enjoyment. (Usually a command.) : Eat up! There's plenty more where this came from.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

eat up

  1. Consume completely, as in No television until you eat up your dinner, or This quarter's expenses have eaten up all my spare cash. The literal use (first example) dates from the early 1500s, the figurative from the early 1600s.

  2. Enjoy avidly, as in She simply eats up the publicity. [Late 1800s]

  3. Believe unquestioningly, be gullible, as in He'll eat up whatever the broker tells him. [Slang; early 1900s]

  4. Defeat completely, as in This new fighter just eats up every opponent. [Slang; c. 1830]

  5. See eat out, def. 2.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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