Eats hungrily or greedily, consuming food rapidly and eagerly. Can also mean to consume or destroy something completely and rapidly in a non-literal sense.
From Old French 'devorer', from Latin 'devorare', combining 'de-' (completely) and 'vorare' (to swallow, eat greedily). The root 'vor-' relates to consuming or swallowing, seen also in 'carnivore' and 'voracious'.
The word contains a sense of almost violent consumption - it's not just eating, but eating with intense hunger or greed! When we say someone 'devours' a book, we capture that same voracious appetite applied to knowledge rather than food, showing how physical metaphors enrich our description of mental activities.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.