eat one's words

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eat one's words

verb eats one's words · eating one's words · ate one's words · eaten one's words

figuratively To regret or retract what one has said. He didn't think I could do it, but I proved him wrong and made him eat his words.
Similar: eat crow, recant, take back

Translations

Every language

verb regret something said

中文	承認說錯話 /承认说错话 chéngrèn shuō cuò huà
Français	se rétracter
Italiano	ritrattarsi

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MLA

"eat one's words." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/eat%20one's%20words. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

eat one's words. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/eat%20one's%20words

Chicago

"eat one's words." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/eat%20one's%20words.

BibTeX

@misc{eat_one_s_words_2026,
  title = {eat one's words},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/eat%20one's%20words},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}