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🛏️ To arrange bedding 🍽️ To eat eagerly
to tuck in

to tuck in

2 4.0
To eat a lot of food eagerly
  • phrasal verb
  • /tʌk ɪn/
  • UK
: zamparse
  • Tuck in, men.

Examples

  • - Come on, everyone, tuck in.

    Vera Drake (2004)

  • Tuck in, everyone.

    Kill List (2011)

  • - All right, everybody, tuck in!

    The Ref (1994)

  • I'm going to tuck in.

    GONE: My Daughter (2018)

  • Anyway guys, tuck in, take a plate, tuck in, everyone.

  • Let's tuck in; this way we won't need lunch.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • But it's time to tuck in to the world's biggest carrot cake.

  • Okay, let's tuck in.

    Phua Chu Kang The Movie (2010)

  • After the long hike, everyone was eager to tuck in to the delicious barbecue feast.

  • At the family gathering, the kids couldn't wait to tuck in to the cake and ice cream.

Synonyms

to eat
vsto tuck in
∞ 1.0

Put food or drink into your mouth, chew it and swallow it

adds eager enthusiasm and a large amount rather than neutral action
to gobble
vsto tuck in
54 2.6

To eat food quickly and noisily without chewing properly

is similar but emphasizes large eager enjoyment rather than noisy speed
to eat up
vsto tuck in
45 1.0

Finish all the food on your plate

is about eating large amounts eagerly rather than only finishing food
to gobble up
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
36 3.0

To eat something quickly and eagerly

adds the idea of particularly large quantity eaten with enthusiasm
to dig in
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
34 1.9

To start eating eagerly, often at a shared meal

emphasizes eating large amounts eagerly rather than only starting eagerly
to stuff
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
24 5.8

To eat a lot quickly until you feel too full

is eager and enthusiastic but not always about fullness result
to chow
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
23 8.0

To eat food quickly and eagerly

specifies eating large amounts with eagerness rather than casual style
to fill up
vsto tuck in
21 1.9

Eat until you cannot eat any more

is about eager large consumption rather than only reaching fullness
to gorge
vsto tuck in
19 5.9

To eat a very large amount of food greedily

keeps eagerness but less about reaching uncomfortable fullness
to devour
vsto tuck in
15 2.9

To eat food quickly because you are very hungry

stresses eating especially large amounts with active enthusiasm
to pig out
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
11 7.5

Eat a very large amount of food without control

keeps greedy eating but adds clear eager enthusiasm rather than habit
to wolf down
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
8 5.8

Eat food very quickly when you are very hungry

focuses more on large eager eating rather than hunger as cause
to eat like a horse
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
2 4.9

To eat a very large amount of food

describes eager large eating at a moment rather than habitual pattern
to shovel in
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
1 7.7

To eat a lot of food very fast without stopping

shares quick large eating but stresses lively eagerness not greed
to demolish
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
1 3.7

Eat all the food very quickly

is about eating large amounts eagerly rather than only finishing completely
to ingurgitate
vsto tuck in
  • Formal
1 9.9

To eat a lot of food very quickly

adds enthusiastic eagerness and positive enjoyment to the excess
to engorge
vsto tuck in
1 7.7

To eat a lot of food quickly without control

adds lively eagerness and enjoyment rather than clinical excess
to put away
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
1 3.4

To eat a large amount of food quickly

focuses more on eager enjoyment while eating large amounts
to nom
vsto tuck in
  • Slang
1 9.9

To eat something quickly and enjoy it

is similar but highlights eating a larger amount with eagerness
to scarf out
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
1 8.4

To eat a lot of food very quickly

is similar but focuses on enthusiastic eagerness rather than slangy greed
to stuff one's face
vsto tuck in
  • Informal
1 8.2

To eat a lot of food very quickly

is similar but highlights eager enjoyment rather than loss of control
to tuck away
vsto tuck in
  • UK
1 5.7

To eat a lot of food quickly while enjoying it

emphasizes eagerness for large quantity rather than only speed
to englut
vsto tuck in
  • Archaic
9.9

To eat too much food in a greedy way

shares excess but frames it as eager, enthusiastic eating
to fill one's face
vsto tuck in
  • UK
8.5

To eat a lot of food quickly

focuses on eager enjoyment rather than simply lacking restraint

Antonyms

to refuse
∞ 1.7

To say no to a request or offer

fast
31 4.0

A time when a person does not eat or drink

How Much

to gorge
19 5.9
to devour
15 2.9
to tuck in
  • UK
2 4.0
to eat
∞ 1.0
to nibble
55 2.0

Surface Forms

tuck in infinitive
tucked in past
tucked in past participle
tucking in present participle
tucks in third person singular

Morphology

tuck + in

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'tuck' (to push or fold something into place securely) with the directional particle 'in' (into), yielding the idea of folding bedding inward around someone. This verb+particle composition is a common, transparent pattern in English (and parallels exist in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should understand the MWE.

Etymology

Tuck in for eating may come from the idea of tuck meaning to put something into a small space. Imagine quickly putting food into your mouth as if tucking it away, and so tuck in means 'to eat eagerly'.