Eat

ēt, v.t. to chew and swallow: to consume: to corrode.— v.i. to take food:— pr.p. eat′ing; pa.t. ate (āt or et); pa.p. eaten (ētn) or ( obs. ) eat (et).— adj. Eat′able , fit to be eaten.— n. anything used as food (chiefly pl. ).— ns. Eat′age , gra or fodder for horses, .: the right to eat; Eat′er , one who, or that which, eats or corrodes; Eat′ing , the act of taking food.— p.adj. that eats: corroding.— ns. Eat′ing-house , a place where provisions are sold ready dre ed: a restaurant; Good′-eat′ing , something good for food.— Eat away , to destroy gradually: to gnaw; Eat in , used of the action of acid; Eat its head off , used of an animal which costs as much for food as it is worth; Eat one's heart , to pine away, brooding over misfortune; Eat one's terms , to study for the bar, with allusion to the number of times in a term that a student must dine in the hall of an Inn of Court; Eat one's words , to retract: to recant; Eat out , to finish eatables: to encroach upon; Eat the air ( Shak. ) to be deluded with hopes; Eat up , to devour: to consume, absorb; Eat well , to have a good appetite. [A.S. etan ; cf. Ger. e en , Ice. eta , L. edĕre , Gr. edein .]