1
general::
1. Consume completely, as in No television until you eat up your dinner, or This quar ter'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. 2. Enjoy avidly, as in She simply eats up the publicity. [Late 1800s] 3. Believe unquestioningly, be gullible, as in He'll eat up whatever the broker tells him. [Slang; early 1900s] 4. Defeat completely, as in This new fighter just eats up every opponent. [Slang; c. 1830] 5. See EAT OUT, def. 2.
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): eat an animal up
Go to eat something up., Phrase(s): eat something up 1. [and] eat an animal up
Lit. to devour all of some food or an animal. • They ate the turkey up, and no one had to eat leftovers. • The lion ate up the zebra very quickly. 2. Fig. to consume something rapidly, such as money. • Running this household eats my income up. • The car really eats up gas. 3. Fig. to believe something. • Those people really eat that stuff up about tax reduction. • They’ll eat up almost anything you tell them. 4. Fig. to appreciate something. • The audience liked my singing; they really ate it up. • The stuff about the federal budget went over well. They really ate up the whole story., Phrase(s): Eat up!
to eat everything; to eat eagerly. (Usually a command to begin eating. Compare this with Drink up!.) • Come on, let’s eat up and get going. • Eat up, you guys, and get back to work!, Phrase(s): eat someone up
1. Lit. to consume the flesh of someone. • The big bad wolf said he was going to eat you up! • The bear ate up the fish. 2. Fig. [for an idea] to consume a person. • The whole idea of visiting Australia was just eating her up. • The obsession to own a car was eating up my brother and his friends. 3. Fig. [for insects] to bite a person all over. • These mosquitoes are just eating me up! • The bugs literally ate up all the hikers. 4. Fig. [for someone] to overwhelm and devastate someone. • The guy is a devil! He just eats up people! • Fred will just eat you up. He is a vicious administrator.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs