to tuck away
1
5.7
- phrasal verb
- /tʌk əˈweɪ/
- UK
- He loves to tuck away a big slice of cake!
Examples
-
The children tucked away the birthday cake in no time.
-
After skipping lunch, he tucked away an enormous steak for dinner.
-
She tucked away a full plate of pasta before anyone else had finished.
-
After the race, she tucked away a whole pizza.
-
After the competition, he tucked away a big plate of pasta to refuel.
-
She quickly tucked away several slices of cake at the party.
-
Feeling hungry after the workout, I tucked away a hearty breakfast.
Synonyms
54
2.6
To eat food quickly and noisily without chewing properly
45
1.0
Finish all the food on your plate
36
3.0
To eat something quickly and eagerly
24
5.8
To eat a lot quickly until you feel too full
19
5.9
To eat a very large amount of food greedily
15
2.9
To eat food quickly because you are very hungry
11
7.5
Eat a very large amount of food without control
8
5.8
Eat food very quickly when you are very hungry
2
4.9
To eat a very large amount of food
2
4.0
To eat a lot of food eagerly
1
7.7
To eat a lot of food very fast without stopping
1
3.7
Eat all the food very quickly
1
9.9
To eat a lot of food very quickly
1
7.7
To eat a lot of food quickly without control
1
3.4
To eat a large amount of food quickly
1
9.9
To eat something quickly and enjoy it
1
8.4
To eat a lot of food very quickly
1
8.2
To eat a lot of food very quickly
1
9.9
To eat too much in a greedy way
1
9.9
To eat too much food quickly and greedily
To eat too much food in a greedy way
To eat a lot of food quickly
To eat a lot of food quickly and greedily
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal components 'tuck' (to push/fold into place) + 'away' (to another location) yield a 'put/store' sense, and the eating meaning is a metaphorical extension of 'putting food away' (i.e. consuming it). This mapping from 'store/put away' to 'eat a lot' is partially inferable but relies on a figurative shift that a B1 learner may not fully predict without exposure.
Etymology
Tuck away comes from the simple image of quickly putting something out of sight, like when you tuck a snack away in your pocket or sleeve. So when someone tucks away a lot of food, it means 'to eat a large amount' quickly, as if they are hiding it while they eat.