transitive verb ate (āt; Brit usually et), eaten eat′en (ēt′'n), eating eat′·ing

1. to put (food) in the mouth, chew if necessary, and swallow
2. to use up, devour, destroy, or waste as by eating; consume or ravage: usually with away or up
3. to penetrate and destroy, as acid does; corrode
4. to make by or as by eating the acid ate holes in the cloth
5. to bring into a specified condition by eating to eat oneself sick
6. Informal to absorb (a financial loss); accept responsibility for losses resulting from (unsold goods, bad debts, etc.)
7. ☆ Slang to worry or bother what's eating him?
8. Vulgar, Slang to perform fellatio or cunnilingus on

Etymology: ME eten < OE etan, akin to Ger essen < IE base *ed-, to eat > L edere, Gr edmenai

intransitive verb

1. to eat food; have a meal or meals
2. to destroy or use up something gradually: often with into