eat up
B1Informal to neutral
Definition
Meaning
To consume all of something, especially food.
To use or absorb something completely; to be consumed by an emotion or activity; to accept something uncritically.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Often implies completion or totality. Can be literal (food) or figurative (time, resources, emotions). The particle 'up' adds a sense of completeness.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minimal. Both use it with similar frequency and meaning.
Connotations
Slightly more common in casual, everyday speech in both varieties.
Frequency
Comparable frequency in corpora for both BrE and AmE.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Subject] eats up [Object][Subject] is eaten up by [Emotion]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Eat your heart out”
- “Eat humble pie”
- “Eat someone out of house and home”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to costs or profits being consumed (e.g., 'Overheads are eating up our profits').
Academic
Rare in formal writing; may appear in social sciences discussing resource consumption.
Everyday
Very common, especially around meals and discussing time/energy.
Technical
Not typical in technical registers.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The kids ate up their pudding quickly.
- This project is eating up all my spare time.
- He was eaten up with guilt after the argument.
American English
- Eat up your broccoli, please.
- Fuel costs are eating up our budget.
- She's eaten up with envy over her sister's promotion.
adverb
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
adjective
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Eat up your lunch.
- The dog ate up all his food.
- The new software eats up a lot of memory on my computer.
- Eat up, we need to leave soon.
- The legal fees are eating up most of the inheritance.
- He was eaten up by regret for years after the accident.
- The powerful engine ate up the miles on the autobahn.
- Her ambition was eating her up from the inside.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a Pac-Man character eating up all the dots on the screen—completely consuming them.
Conceptual Metaphor
CONSUMPTION IS DESTRUCTION / TIME/EMOTION IS A CONSUMABLE ENTITY
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid direct translation of 'up' as 'вверх'. The phrase is a whole unit meaning 'съесть полностью'.
- Do not confuse with 'eat out' (есть не дома).
Common Mistakes
- *He ate up the cake completely. (redundant)
- *She was eaten up with by jealousy. (incorrect preposition)
Practice
Quiz
In the sentence 'He was eaten up with jealousy,' what does 'eaten up' mean?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is primarily used in informal and neutral contexts. It is rare in very formal writing.
Yes, very commonly. It is often used figuratively for time, money, resources, or emotions (e.g., 'eaten up with worry').
'Eat' is the general action. 'Eat up' emphasizes finishing or consuming something completely, often quickly or thoroughly.
Yes, especially with emotions (e.g., 'eaten up by guilt/anger'). It is less common for literal food consumption.
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