eats
eats — 名詞
1. Food, especially a small amount, or a light meal — used in casual conversation o
食物；點心
非正式用語，指食物或簡餐
Food, especially a small amount, or a light meal — used in casual conversation or slang.
After the hike, Mei-Ling said she was starving and asked where they could grab some eats.
健行結束後，Mei-Ling 說她餓壞了，問大家哪裡可以買點東西吃。
collocation: grab some eats
The food truck at the corner sells great late-night eats for under five dollars.
街角那輛餐車賣的宵夜又好吃又便宜，還不到五美元。
informal register for 'food'
We brought some eats to the beach — sandwiches, fruit, and a bag of chips.
我們帶了一些吃的到海邊——三明治、水果，還有一包洋芋片。
Tariq grabbed some eats from the convenience store before catching the midnight train.
Tariq 在搭午夜火車前從便利商店買了一些吃的。
文法句型
usually in 'have some eats' or 'get some eats'
用法筆記
Almost always used in informal speech. Does NOT appear in formal writing. The phrase 'have some eats' is widespread in casual American English.
常見錯誤
eats — 動詞
- eatspresent simple I / you / we / they
- eatses3rd person singular
- eatsing-ing form
- eatsedpast simple
1. To put food into your mouth, chew it, and swallow it; to have a meal.
吃；進食
將食物放入口中咀嚼吞下
To put food into your mouth, chew it, and swallow it; to have a meal.
Elena eats a bowl of oatmeal with berries every morning before work.
Elena 每天早上上班前都會吃一碗加了莓果的燕麥粥。
transitive: eat + [food item]
The children ate so quickly that their mother told them to slow down.
孩子們吃得太快了，媽媽叫他們慢一點。
intransitive (no object)
We usually eat at a small Vietnamese place near the office on Fridays.
我們週五通常會在辦公室附近一家小越南餐館吃飯。
The soup was so hot that Gabriel had to wait a few minutes before he could eat it.
湯太燙了，Gabriel 得等幾分鐘才能喝。
文法句型
eat + [food]
eat (no object)
eat + adverb/preposition
用法筆記
The most basic and common sense of 'eat'. It can be used with or without a direct object. When a specific food is named, 'eat' is transitive; when the focus is on the activity of having a meal, it is intransitive.
常見錯誤
2. To damage or destroy something gradually by chemical action, wear, or persistent
侵蝕；腐蝕
透過化學作用逐漸損壞
To damage or destroy something gradually by chemical action, wear, or persistent pressure.
The salty sea air had eaten the paint off the old fishing boat over the years.
長年累月的鹹海風侵蝕了那艘舊漁船上的油漆。
transitive: chemical action on a surface
Rust was eating away at the metal beams underneath the bridge.
鐵鏽正在慢慢腐蝕橋下的金屬樑柱。
phrasal: eat away at [sth]
Acid rain eats into stone monuments, slowly damaging carvings and inscriptions.
酸雨侵蝕石造古蹟，慢慢損壞雕刻與碑文。
Over decades, wind and rain had eaten away the sandstone carvings on the old temple walls.
幾十年來，風雨侵蝕了古老寺廟牆上的砂岩雕刻。
文法句型
eat + [object: metal, surface]
eat away at + [object]
用法筆記
Often used in the phrasal form 'eat away at' or 'eat into'. The subject is typically a corrosive substance (acid, rust, salt water). Can also be used figuratively for guilt or worry (see also sense 4).
常見錯誤
3. To accept and pay for a cost, expense, or financial loss, especially an unexpect
吸收成本
自行吸收意外費用
To accept and pay for a cost, expense, or financial loss, especially an unexpected one that cuts into profits.
The shipping company had to eat the cost of the damaged packages because the insurance did not cover the claim.
貨運公司不得不自行吸收成本，因為運送中受損包裹的保險沒有理賠。
eat + the cost of [something]
The small factory was forced to eat the loss when the client cancelled the order at the last minute.
客戶在最後一刻取消訂單時，那家小工廠被迫承擔材料的損失。
eat + the loss — business register
The restaurant owner decided to eat the extra expense rather than raise menu prices for the holiday season.
餐廳老闆決定自行吸收額外開銷，不在假期期間調高菜單價格。
- absorb
neutral business term for bearing a cost without passing it on
- foot the bill for
means to pay for something, not necessarily at a loss
- swallow
similar informal metaphor for accepting a loss
文法句型
eat + [cost/expense/loss]
用法筆記
Restricted to informal business contexts, primarily American English. The direct object must be an expense, cost, loss, or fee — not a person or physical object.
常見錯誤
4. To bother, worry, or irritate someone — used especially in the question 'What's
困擾；煩惱
非正式用法，指令人心煩的事
To bother, worry, or irritate someone — used especially in the question 'What's eating you?' to ask why someone seems upset.
You have been quiet all morning — what's eating you, Diego?
你整個早上都很安靜——Diego，你怎麼了？什麼事在煩你？
idiomatic question: What's eating [person]?
Something has been eating at Fatima all week, but she refuses to talk about it.
有件事困擾Fatima 整整一個星期了，但她不肯說。
progressive: eating at [person]
The unfair criticism ate at Omar long after the meeting was over.
那次不公平的批評在會議結束後仍困擾著 Omar 很長時間。
Mauricio could not figure out what had been eating at his colleague all week.
Mauricio 搞不清楚到底是什麼事困擾了他同事一整週。
文法句型
What's eating + [person]?
用法筆記
Almost exclusively appears in the continuous aspect ('is eating', 'has been eating') or the fixed question phrase 'what's eating you/him/her/them?'. The prepositional variant 'eat at' is also common.
常見錯誤
5. To enjoy or absorb something — such as a book, performance, or experience — with
陶醉享受
極度投入地享受某事物
To enjoy or absorb something — such as a book, performance, or experience — with great enthusiasm, as if devouring it.
Nia ate up every word the famous novelist said during the lecture.
那位知名小說家在演講時說的每句話，Nia 都聽得津津有味。
phrasal: eat up [sth] for enthusiastic enjoyment
The children ate up the magician's trick and begged him to do another one.
孩子們陶醉在魔術師的把戲裡，求他再變一個。
Sofia ate the praise from her manager with a shy smile, though deep down she was thrilled.
Sofia 害羞地笑著接受了主管的讚美，但內心其實非常開心。
文法句型
eat + [art/book/experience] up
用法筆記
Often used with the particle 'up' ('eat up'). The object must be something non-physical: words, attention, praise, entertainment. NOT used for literal food in this sense.
常見錯誤
6. A vulgar slang term for performing oral sex on someone — used in explicit sexual
性行為粗話
極為粗俗的性相關用語
A vulgar slang term for performing oral sex on someone — used in explicit sexual contexts only.
The teacher warned students that this verb also has a vulgar slang meaning, so they should use it carefully.
老師提醒學生，這個動詞也有粗俗的性暗示，使用時要小心。
register warning context
In the uncensored version of the song, the lyric includes a crude line using the word in its explicit sense.
在那首歌的未刪減版本中，歌詞使用了這個詞的粗鄙含義。
Readers of the novel were shocked to find the term used in its vulgar sense in the dialogue.
小說讀者發現對話中使用這個詞的粗俗含義時，都感到很震驚。
文法句型
eat + [person]
用法筆記
Very strong slang. Do not use in polite conversation, academic writing, or professional settings. The context of the sentence (informal, sexual) determines which sense is intended.