gobble up

gobble up — 片語動詞

  • gobble upbase form
  • gobbles up3rd person singular
  • gobbling up-ing form
  • gobbled uppast simple

1. to eat something very quickly and eagerly, often taking large mouthfuls because

1.片語動詞及物A2
釋義

狼吞虎嚥

快速貪婪地吃

to eat something very quickly and eagerly, often taking large mouthfuls because you are very hungry or you like the taste a lot.

例句

The children gobbled up the pizza before their parents even sat down at the table.

孩子們在父母還沒坐下之前就把披薩狼吞虎嚥地吃光了。

noun phrase object after up: gobbled up the pizza

Yuki was so hungry after the hike that she gobbled her rice bowl up in under two minutes.

Yuki 在健行後非常餓，不到兩分鐘就把她的飯碗吃光了。

object between verb and particle: gobbled her rice bowl up

同義詞
  • devour

    more formal; suggests eating with great enthusiasm

  • wolf down

    informal; emphasises eating very fast, often with bad table manners

反義詞
  • nibble

    eat in very small amounts, slowly

文法句型

gobble + up + object

gobble + object + up

用法筆記

The object can go either before or after 'up', but when the object is a pronoun (it, them), it must come between the verb and 'up': 'He gobbled it up' (NOT 'He gobbled up it').

常見錯誤

❌He gobbled up it in five seconds.
✅He gobbled it up in five seconds.
💡Pronouns must always come between the verb and 'up'.

2. to use a large amount of something very quickly, especially money, time, fuel, o

2.片語動詞及物B1
釋義

耗盡；消耗

迅速大量消耗資源

to use a large amount of something very quickly, especially money, time, fuel, or other resources, often leaving little or nothing left.

例句

The unexpected car repairs gobbled up nearly all of our savings for the month.

突如其來的修車費用幾乎耗盡了我們這個月的所有積蓄。

gobbled up + noun phrase (all of our savings)

This old heating system gobbles energy up faster than the modern one we looked at.

這套老舊的暖氣系統消耗能源的速度比我們看過的新型號快得多。

particle after object: gobbles energy up

同義詞
  • consume

    more neutral; can describe normal or expected usage

  • eat into

    idiom; suggests gradually reducing a resource

  • swallow up

    similar meaning but emphasises complete disappearance

反義詞
  • save

    keep resources for later use

  • conserve

    use resources carefully to avoid waste

文法句型

gobble + up + noun (resource)

gobble + noun + up

用法筆記

Subject is often an expense, a machine, or a habit; the thing consumed is typically a limited resource such as money, time, or fuel. Distinguished from Sense 1 because the subject is not a person eating.

常見錯誤

❌The project gobbled up.
✅The project gobbled up our budget.
💡This phrasal verb is always transitive; you must state what is being used up.

3. when a larger company or organisation buys and takes control of a smaller one, u

3.片語動詞及物B2
釋義

併購；吞併

大公司收購小公司

when a larger company or organisation buys and takes control of a smaller one, usually absorbing it into its own operations.

例句

The retail chain has gobbled up three bookshops in Tokyo over the past two years.

這家零售連鎖店在過去兩年內已經併購了東京三家書店。

gobbled up + number + noun phrase

Local shop owners worry the big corporation will gobble their businesses up one by one.

當地店家老闆擔心那家大企業會把他們的生意一家一家地吞併掉。

object between verb and particle: gobble their businesses up

同義詞
  • take over

    broader meaning; can apply to any form of acquisition

  • acquire

    formal business term for buying a company

  • absorb

    emphasises that the smaller company loses its separate identity

反義詞
  • spin off

    create a separate company from part of a larger one

文法句型

gobble + up + company/business

gobble + company + up

用法筆記

Subject is always an organisation (company, chain, group), never an individual person. The smaller target is typically a competitor, start-up, or local business that cannot resist the takeover.

常見錯誤

❌The manager gobbled up the small shop next door.
✅The supermarket chain gobbled up the small shop next door.
💡The subject should be an organisation, not an individual.