- to swallow or eat up greedily or voraciously
- to waste or destroy; consume
- to consume greedily or avidly with the senses or mind
- to engulf or absorb
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
de•vour /dɪˈvaʊr/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to swallow or eat up hungrily:He devoured several helpings of stew.
- to consume destructively;
demolish;
destroy:Fire devoured the museum. - to take in eagerly with the senses or intellect:devoured one book after another.
- to absorb completely;
engross:[usually: be + ~-ed + by]His mind was devoured by hatred.
de•vour
(di vour′),USA pronunciation v.t.
de•vour′er, n.
de•vour′ing•ly, adv.
de•vour′ing•ness, n.
- to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.
- to consume destructively, recklessly, or wantonly:Fire devoured the old museum.
- to engulf or swallow up.
- to take in greedily with the senses or intellect:to devour the works of Freud.
- to absorb or engross wholly:a mind devoured by fears.
- Latin dēvorāre to swallow down, equivalent. to dē- de- + vorāre to eat up
- Anglo-French, Old French devourer
- Middle English devouren 1275–1325
de•vour′ing•ly, adv.
de•vour′ing•ness, n.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
devour /dɪˈvaʊə/ vb (transitive)
'devour' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):