Phrasal verb
chow down
Definition
phrasal verb. to eat a lot of food quickly and with great energy. You use this when you are very hungry or really enjoying a meal.
phrasal verb. to consume food vigorously or in large quantities; informal register, often used intransitively or with the preposition 'on'.
Examples
“The kids are ready to chow down on some pizza.”
“After hiking for six hours, we were ready to chow down as soon as we reached the camp.”
“The marathon runners gathered at the local diner to chow down on massive plates of pasta before the big race.”
Examples
simple
“The kids are ready to chow down on some pizza.”
contextual
“After hiking for six hours, we were ready to chow down as soon as we reached the camp.”
complex
“The marathon runners gathered at the local diner to chow down on massive plates of pasta before the big race.”
Usage
informal and colloquial; often followed by the preposition 'on' plus the food item.
Teaching tip
this is a great example of American slang that has become widely understood; use it to discuss the difference between 'eat' (neutral) and 'feast' (formal/literary).
Pitfall
We chowed down the burgers.
We chowed down on the burgers.
when mentioning the specific food, you usually need the preposition 'on' after the phrase.
Phrasal verb
Particles
down
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
chow + down (+ on + object)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/chow-down