eat out
phr. v..phr. v.. to have a meal at a restaurant instead of at home.
phr. v.. to consume a meal in a commercial establishment rather than in a domestic setting; intransitive phrasal verb.
We like to eat out on Friday nights.
Since they were both too tired to cook after work, they decided to eat out at the new Italian place.
The rising cost of living has forced many families to reduce how often they eat out, leading to a decline in local restaurant revenue.
- Particles
- out
- Separability
- inseparable
- Pattern
- eat + out
this is an intransitive verb, so it does not take a direct object.
contrast with 'eat in' (to stay home) or 'take out' (to buy food and bring it home); it is one of the earliest phrasal verbs learners encounter.
We ate out a pizza last night.We ate a pizza out last night (or) We went out for a pizza.'eat out' is intransitive and cannot be followed by the food item as a direct object.