to wolf down
7
5.8
- phrasal verb
- /wʊlf daʊn/
- Informal
:
devorar
- Beavis takes a couple, then starts wolfing down the whole box.
- wolfed down a sandwich
- wolfed down breakfast
- wolfed down their food
Examples
-
The three of them are wolfing down a late lunch.
Fiction book (1996) -
Chloe gives me a puzzled look, then starts to wolf down linguini and shrimp like she hasn't eaten in a week.
Fiction book (1999) -
And after the operation, you can wolf down the whole packet in one go.
-
She'd just wolf down the food for strength and leave.
Fiction book (1999) -
Inmates typically have five to fifteen minutes to wolf down their food.
Academic text (2017) -
You just wolfed down half a sandwich before I even started.
-
At game's end, we ran home, wolfed down our cold chicken sandwiches, and then scurried off to the movies.
Academic text (2000) -
Sandy watches Jeffrey happily wolf down his pie.
Fiction book (1997) -
On the Nepenthe, the guests wolfed down their food and poured from the salon, sipping from glasses of bubbly.
Fiction book (2001) -
At the picnic, I watched him wolf down two hamburgers in just a few minutes.
Synonyms
22
5.4
Eat or drink something quickly and completely
19
3.0
To eat something quickly and eagerly
16
2.6
To eat food quickly and noisily without chewing properly
13
2.9
To eat food quickly because you are very hungry
11
6.1
To eat quickly and greedily
9
7.7
To drink or eat something very quickly, often without pausing
6
3.1
To eat or drink something quickly without stopping
3
8.2
To eat a lot of food very quickly
2
4.4
To eat food very quickly without chewing properly
2
3.7
Eat all the food very quickly
To eat something quickly and greedily
To eat or drink very quickly, often without chewing
To eat a lot of food very fast without stopping
To eat a lot of food very quickly
To eat a lot of food quickly and greedily
To eat food quickly and greedily
To eat too much food in a greedy way
To eat something quickly and enjoy it
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents directly contribute to the meaning: 'wolf' (used as a verb meaning to eat greedily) supplies the idea of voracious eating and 'down' conveys rapid consumption, so their combination predictably yields 'eat very quickly and eagerly.' This verb+particle composition follows common English patterns and is likely deducible by a B1 learner who knows the constituent senses.
Etymology
The phrasal verb wolf down may come from the strong image of a hungry wolf taking big bites and pushing food down as fast as it can. So, to 'wolf something down' means 'to eat quickly and eagerly'.