ENGLISH
REFERENCE

chow down on

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to eat a lot of food quickly and with great enthusiasm.

phr. v.. to consume food vigorously or in large quantities; carries a highly informal, colloquial register often used in social or casual settings.


SIMPLE

The kids chow down on pizza after their soccer game.

CONTEXTUAL

We found a great burger joint and spent the afternoon chowing down on fries and shakes.

COMPLEX

While the guests were chowing down on the buffet, the host took the opportunity to make a surprise announcement.

Particles
down on
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
chow + down + on + object
Usage

highly informal; usually followed by a specific type of food as the object.

Teaching tip

this is a great example of 'vivid' phrasal verbs; contrast it with 'eat' (neutral) and 'devour' (more intense/literary) to show how register changes based on the setting.

Pitfall

They chowed down the tacos.They chowed down on the tacos.the preposition 'on' is required when you mention the specific food being eaten.

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