1 C1 formal
To eat something extremely greedily and rapidly, like a predator consuming prey.
"The wolves ravined down the carcass before any other animal could approach."
separable
ravin down
C1 formal separable transitive
To devour something greedily and voraciously, especially as a predator would.
In plain English
To eat something very fast and greedily, like a hungry animal.
What does "ravin down" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 idiomatic formal
To plunder or consume resources in a voracious, destructive manner.
"The invading army ravined down the countryside's stores, leaving nothing for the local people."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To seize and swallow prey downward, as a predatory animal does.
Actually means
To eat something very fast and greedily, like a hungry animal.
Usage tip
Highly archaic and literary. Derived from 'ravin' (also 'raven'), an old verb meaning to plunder or devour. Almost never used in modern spoken English. Encountered mainly in older poetry or literature. Not to be confused with the bird 'raven'.
Words that pair with "ravin down"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
prey food flesh meal provisions
How to conjugate "ravin down"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
ravin down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
ravins down
he/she/it
Past simple
ravined down
yesterday
Past participle
ravined down
have + pp
-ing form
ravining down
continuous
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