1 B1 idiomatic informal
To eat food quickly and greedily.
"The kids scarfed up all the cookies before their parents came home."
separable
scarf up
B1 informal separable transitive
To eat food quickly and greedily, or to grab and take something eagerly.
In plain English
To eat something really fast, or to take something quickly before it's gone.
What does "scarf up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 idiomatic informal
To take or acquire something eagerly, often before others can get it.
"Shoppers scarfed up all the discounted items within the first hour of the sale."
separable
Usage tip
Chiefly American English. 'Scarf up' and 'scarf down' overlap heavily in meaning. 'Scarf up' has a slight additional sense of acquiring something eagerly, not just eating. Very informal and conversational.
Words that pair with "scarf up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
food snacks bargains tickets leftovers samples
How to conjugate "scarf up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
scarf up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
scarfs up
he/she/it
Past simple
scarfed up
yesterday
Past participle
scarfed up
have + pp
-ing form
scarfing up
continuous
Hear "scarf up" in the wild
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