gobble up
To eat something very fast, or to use up a lot of something quickly.
Meanings
To eat food very quickly and greedily.
"The puppy gobbled up its dinner before the bowl even hit the floor."
To consume, absorb, or use up resources, money, space, or time at a rapid rate.
"Childcare costs gobbled up almost half of her monthly salary."
For a large entity to take over or absorb a smaller one (business, territory).
"The tech giant gobbled up three smaller startups in the space of a year."
Common in both literal (food) and figurative (resources, time, money, land) contexts. The figurative sense ('legal fees gobbled up all the savings') is frequent in journalism. Fun, vivid word that is slightly humorous in tone.
Commonly used with
Forms
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