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eat up
verb
(also intr) to eat or consume entirely: often used as an exhortation to children
informalto listen to with enthusiasm or appreciation
the audience ate up the speaker's every word
informal(often passive) to affect grossly
she was eaten up by jealousy
informalto travel (a distance) quickly
we just ate up the miles
Idioms and Phrases
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.
Enjoy avidly, as in She simply eats up the publicity . [Late 1800s]
Believe unquestioningly, be gullible, as in He'll eat up whatever the broker tells him . [ Slang ; early 1900s]
Defeat completely, as in This new fighter just eats up every opponent . [ Slang ; c. 1830]
See eat out , def. 2.
Example Sentences
The Resolution Foundation said the U-turn would create "new complexity" in the tax system and that any savings from the policy would be eaten up by the administrative cost of means-testing the payment.
Payments on my credit cards and a personal loan eat up half the income I get from Social Security, my late husband’s pension and my IRA.
Your mother’s money may have been eaten up by long-term care expenses, which can be breathtakingly expensive.
Kenan’s time at the gym began to eat up the rest of his life.
NHS Providers, representing trusts across England, says most of that money has been eaten up by everyday pressures including wage rises, inflation and drug price increases.
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