eat up

/it əp/

/it əp/

Other forms: eaten up; ate up; eating up; eats up

You can use the phrase eat up any time you're talking about something — or someone — who uses up or consumes resources, especially at a rapid pace.

You might decide to buy a gas-electric hybrid car if you prefer a vehicle that doesn't eat up gasoline. Airplanes also eat up fuel, and an expensive hobby like skiing can quickly eat up all of your savings if you're not careful. Eat up can literally mean "eat everything" as well, like when your grandmother sings out, "Eat up!" as she serves you a big plate of her famous broccoli casserole.

Definitions of eat up

1. verb

   use up (resources or materials)
   synonyms: consume, deplete, eat, exhaust, run through, use up, wipe out

   occupy, take, use up

   require (time or space)

   types:

   run out

   exhaust the supply of

   drain

   deplete of resources

   indulge, luxuriate

   enjoy to excess

   burn, burn off, burn up

   use up (energy)

   spend

   spend completely

   exhaust, play out, run down, sap, tire

   deplete

   surfeit

   indulge (one's appetite) to satiety

   overspend

   spend more than available of (a budget)

   underspend

   spend less than the whole of (a budget, for example)

   type of:

   drop, expend, spend

   pay out
2. verb

   finish eating all the food on one's plate or on the table
   synonyms: finish, polish off

   types:

   put away, tuck away, tuck in

   eat up; usually refers to a considerable quantity of food

   type of:

   eat

   take in solid food
3. verb

   enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing
   synonyms: bury, immerse, swallow, swallow up

   type of:

   close in, enclose, inclose, shut in

   surround completely