Learn 20 English verbs to describe eating and drinking. Intermediate and advanced words that are used by natives on a daily basis to expand and enrich your vocabulary.
I will give you easy-to-understand explanations and examples. Learn common English words for daily conversation.
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List of eating verbs
20 English Verbs To Describe Eating
Harry
This is an advanced English lesson where I will give you 20 English verbs relating to eating and drinking.
These are verbs that you can use or you can use to describe the way you or somebody else eats and drinks. Some of them are informal, and some of them are a little bit more formal.
I’ll give you the verb, and I’ll tell you what type of food that it refers to or what eating action refers to. So 20 English verbs to describe eating and drinking.
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to bite
Meaning: to seize food with your teeth and jaws and then eat it
- to bite into your food
- to bite a big chunk of cake
Example:
She bit a piece of cake, and it was delicious.
to bolt (down)
Meaning: to eat your food very, very quickly
Example:
It’s okay, it’s okay. They’ll wait for you. Don’t bolt down your food. You’ll choke.
to chomp (on)
Meaning: to chew the food several times
- to chomp your breakfast
- to chomp on the lettuce
Examples:
The horses chomped on the grass.
The football manager noisily chomped on his chewing gum.
to choke down
Meaning: to eat something with difficulty
Examples:
He had no words. He choked down his food silently and fled the kitchen.
He choked down his food and went back to work.
20 English Verbs To Describe Eating
to demolish
Meaning: (informal) to quickly eat all the food you have been given
Examples:
Wow, you demolished that cake very quickly.
I used to get into bed and demolish a whole packet of biscuits before I went to sleep.
to devour
Meaning: to eat hungrily and/or quickly
Examples:
The kids devoured a plate of cookies in five minutes.
Wow, you devoured those. Will you be able to eat your dinner later?
to dig in (into)
Meaning: (informal) to start eating food with great enthusiasm
Examples:
2, 4, 6, 8, dig in, don’t wait!
Help yourself. Don’t wait for me. Just dig in and eat what you can.
to force down
Meaning: to eat or drink something even though you do not want to
to force down the food/drink
Examples:
Kids don’t like taking medicine, so they have to force it down.
I’ve forced down some toast. I really couldn’t face anything else. Maybe I’ll have something to eat tomorrow.
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to gobble (down)
Meaning: to eat your food very quickly
Example:
Little Johnny gobbled his dinner and went out to play with his friends.
to gulp (down)
Meaning: to loudly and quickly swallow large quantities of food, drink or air
to gulp down a cold drink
Example:
Okay, guys. You have to drink with your food, but don’t gulp it down.
to guzzle (down)
Meaning: to drink a lot and very quickly
Example:
He guzzled two beers to quench his thirst.
Meaning: (about cars) to use a lot of petrol/gas
Example:
Wow, that car guzzles petrol. You must be filling it twice a week.
to munch (on)
Meaning: to chew your food loudly
- to munch on biscuits
- to munch on chips (crisps), cereal
Example:
When I’m watching a movie on a Saturday night, I like to munch on a bag of chips.
to nibble
Meaning: to eat delicately by taking very small bites
- to nibble on cheese
- to nibble on light snacks
Example:
Have you got something small? I’ll nibble on it, I don’t have a big appetite.
to peck at
Meaning: to eat only a small amount of meal
Example:
He just pecks at the vegetables. But if you put a plate of chips, he’ll eat them all.
He has been ill for a while, so he pecks at the food and then pushes the plate to one side.
to pick at
Meaning: to eat small portions of food because it’s not tasty or you’ve got no appetite
Example:
She broke up with her boyfriend three days ago, and she’s only been picking at her food ever since.
to savour
Meaning: to enjoy the taste or the smell of something just before you swallow
Examples:
He savoured every bite of the delicious steak.
They savoured every mouthful of the chef’s desert.
20 English Verbs To Describe Eating
to scoff
Meaning: (British English) to eat something quickly so that nobody else can get it
Examples:
He scoffed down all the sweets, and he didn’t offer any of them to his siblings.
She scoffed all of the cupcakes she hid for her three children.
to snack on sth
Meaning: to take bites of small things to take the edge off your appetite
Examples:
If you want to lose weight, you have to stop snacking between meals.
If you need to snack on something, snack on fruit or healthy nuts.
to tuck in/into sth
Meaning: (British English) to eat food with enthusiasm because you like it or because you are hungry
Examples:
It’s a cold night, there’s some food for you there. So please tuck in.
They tucked into lunch at a mountain restaurant.
to wolf (down)
Meaning: to eat like a savage
Examples:
As soon as you put the food on the table, they wolf it down.
They wolfed down a plate of sausages in a few minutes.
speak better English with Harry podcast- episode 416
Okay, so there we have 20 English verbs that you can use to describe eating and drinking.
You have to try and practise them. You won’t use them all, but you will associate some of them with the action of your friend, your family, and particularly your kids so try to use them.
This is Harry saying goodbye. Thanks for listening and join me for the next lesson.
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