eat away—eat continuously; eat as much as one likes:
- Be prepared to spend at least two hours chatting and eating away, relishing every minute of Fran’s delicious German cooking.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase eat away from home—have one’s meals in cafeterias, etc.
rather than at home:
- When eating away from home, people eat either larger quantities or higher calorie foods.
eat out—eat in a restaurant, etc. instead of at home:
- Sometimes eating out can be cheaper than buying a weeks worth of groceries.
Cf.: eat in—eat or dine at home:
- I would certainly recommend the hotel to people who prefer to eat in and cook for themselves.