eat down
C1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
To eat enough of something stored so that there is less of it left.
Literal meaning: To eat something downward — reducing a pile or stock from the top down.
Meanings
1 C1 neutral
To reduce a surplus or stockpile of food by consuming it before buying more.
"We need to eat down the freezer before we go on holiday so nothing gets wasted."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Relatively uncommon and often used in practical domestic or provisioning contexts — for example, eating down a stockpile of food before restocking. More commonly heard in British English. Not an everyday phrasal verb.
Commonly used with
stockpile supplies reserves leftovers pantry inventory
Forms
Base
eat down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
eats down
he/she/it
Past simple
ate down
yesterday
Past participle
eaten down
have + pp
-ing form
eating down
continuous
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