To gobble means to eat very quickly and greedily, often making loud gulping or chomping sounds. When you gobble your lunch because recess is about to start, you're stuffing food in your mouth without taking time to chew properly or enjoy it. Dogs often gobble their dinner in seconds, barely pausing to breathe.

The word captures both the speed and the sound of rushed eating. Picture someone at Thanksgiving gobbling down mashed potatoes, or a kid gobbling up Halloween candy. The word suggests eating without manners or patience, driven by hunger or excitement.

Interestingly, gobble is also the sound a turkey makes, that distinctive “gobble-gobble-gobble” noise. This gives the word an extra layer of meaning around Thanksgiving, when people joke about gobbling turkey while turkeys gobble in the barnyard.

You might also hear someone say a company gobbled up its competitors, meaning it rapidly acquired or absorbed them. Or that a student gobbled up a book series, reading through all the volumes with eager speed. In these cases, gobble suggests consuming something enthusiastically and completely, whether it's food, information, or opportunities.