to eat on - Glite Dictionary

Examples

The thought of losing her job continued to eat on her for weeks.
Don't let your worries eat on you.
Guilt began to eat on him after the argument with his friend.
The thought of failing the exam began to eat on her.
The criticism from her colleagues began to eat on her confidence, making her second-guess her decisions.
Financial worries can eat on a person's peace of mind, leading to sleepless nights.
His lingering guilt started to eat on him, preventing him from enjoying his new job.

Synonyms

to eat

vsto eat on

Informal

253 7.2

Make someone worry a lot about something and feel bad inside

has identical meaning but is used as a two-word phrasal form

to eat at

vsto eat on

Informal

14 7.1

Gradually make someone feel worse or less confident

is about persistent worry and anxiety rather than slow erosion or damage

to nag

vsto eat on

5 3.9

To feel a small, constant worry that bothers you

focuses on inner, ongoing anxiety rather than external repeated bothering

to weigh on someone's mind

vsto eat on

1 6.0

To make someone feel worried for a long time

focuses more on recurring, persistent anxiety than general mental burden

to hang over someone's head

vsto eat on

7.6

Keep someone worried about something bad that might happen

is about ongoing persistent worry rather than a looming future threat

Antonyms

to ease

305 2.1

To make something less painful or difficult

to comfort

172 1.0

To make someone feel less upset or in pain

How Worried

to haunt

268 4.9

to eat away at

Informal

25 4.4

to eat on

Informal

9.1

to nag

5 3.9

to worry

∞ 1.0

to bother

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

eat on infinitive

ate on past

eaten on past participle

eating on present participle

eats on third person singular

Morphology

eat + on

The MWE meaning (‘to worry or gnaw at someone’) follows a metaphorical extension of 'eat' (to consume/gnaw) combined with a particle indicating continuation ('on'), so part of the meaning can be inferred from the constituents. However, the literal sense of 'eat' does not directly mean 'worry' and English more commonly uses 'eat at' for this sense, so a B1 learner who knows the words may only partially predict the idiomatic sense. Because the connection is motivated but not fully regular or the most typical particle choice, it is best classified as semi-transparent.

Etymology

Eat on paints a picture of something small slowly eating at a surface, bit by bit, and the words eat and on show this slow, wearing action. So when a worry or memory eats on someone, it slowly wears them down or 'worries' them over time.