Eater Meaning
/ˈiː.tɚ/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA person or animal who eats.
nounA fruit or other food that is suitable for eating, especially one that is intended to be eaten uncooked.
Sentence Examples
What a big eater!
This is just between you and me, he is a big eater.
Tom is a picky eater and seldom tries anything new.
CEFR Practice Quiz
A picky ____ often refuses to try new or unfamiliar foods at dinner.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
What a big ____!
Word Origin & History
From Middle English eter, etere, etter, from Old English etere; equivalent to eat + -er (agent noun suffix) or + -er (patient suffix) (food suitable for eating).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""He is the right sort of man for a labourer, but he is a terrible eater, to be sure," thought the farmer."
— 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 96:
""Eaters of human flesh, two things have ye done. First, ye have attacked these strangers, being white men, and would have slain their servant, and for that alone death is your reward.""
— 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
"Coal-eaters they may have been, but a more willing or harder working Atlantic engine was never designed."
— 1947 January and February, O. S. Nock, “"The Aberdonian" in Wartime”, in Railway Magazine, pages 3, 5:
"I'm a slow but fastidious eater"
— 1987, Baird Jones, Sexual humor, page 309:
"Ice cream tastes good to the eater, and has the added advantage of providing a little chill of excitement […]"
— 1997, James White, The Best Sex of Your Life, page 166:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
A picky ____ often refuses to try new or unfamiliar foods at dinner.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
What a big ____!