eating (up)

verb

Definition of eating (up)next
present participle of eat (up)
1
as in welcoming
to receive or accept gladly or readily predictably, moviegoers ate up the sequel to last summer's blockbuster

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in consuming
to destroy all trace of the surf created by a powerful hurricane could really eat up what's left of the island's eastern beach

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for eating (up)
  1. welcoming
  2. consuming
  3. embracing
Verb
  • These include the people welcoming attendees into stadiums, VIP lounge chefs, waiters and the flagbearers during the opening ceremony.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026
  • The historic celebration, watched by hundreds of millions, had Hollywood appeal, welcoming Serena Williams, Idris Elba, David and Victoria Beckham and George Clooney, in addition to the royal family members in attendance.
    — Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 3 July 2026
Definition of welcoming
Verb
  • Check their website before consuming fish caught from the rivers.
    — Finch Walker, USA Today, 5 July 2026
  • First, mantids feed indiscriminately, consuming a wide variety of insects including beneficial insects such as bees, butterflies, and syrphid flies.
    — Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 July 2026
Definition of consuming
Verb
  • Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's son is embracing his time in the spotlight.
    — Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • Increasingly, however, many are embracing a different definition—one that includes rest, healing, preventative care, joy, and self-investment.
    — Maia Niguel Hoskin, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of embracing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

eating one's heart out
eating (up)
eat one's heart out
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Eating (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eating%20%28up%29. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All