Meaning & use
glutton
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Meanings
nouncountabledisapproving
A person who regularly eats much more than they need.
Grammar: Countable noun: you can say a glutton or two gluttons.
Patterns
- a glutton for something
My uncle is a real glutton at holiday dinners.
She called herself a glutton after eating the whole cake.
The story warns children not to be gluttons.
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
A person who seems to want a lot of something, often something unpleasant.
Grammar: Used in the fixed phrase a glutton for punishment.
Patterns
- a glutton for punishment
He keeps taking the hardest jobs—he's a glutton for punishment.
You're a glutton for punishment if you volunteer again.
Word forms
| plural | gluttons |
|---|
Common combinations
- a glutton for punishment
- She's a glutton for punishment, always agreeing to extra work.
- a real glutton
- At the buffet he was a real glutton.
- call someone a glutton
- Don't call him a glutton; he just enjoys food.
- a glutton at the table
- He's a glutton at the table but very polite.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overeater
- Neutral and factual; glutton is more judgmental and often disapproving.
- gourmand
- Often approving or neutral, meaning someone who enjoys good food; glutton suggests excess.
- pig
- Very informal and insulting; glutton is milder and can be humorous.
Opposites
Word family
- gluttony noun
- The habit or sin of eating too much.
- gluttonous adjective
- Greedy about food or drink.
Commonly confused: glutton or gluten? glutton or gluttony?
glutton vs gluten
Gluten is the protein in wheat and similar grains; glutton is the person who overeats.
glutton vs gluttony
Gluttony is the noun for the behavior; glutton is the person.
Practice
After finishing the whole pizza alone, Tom joked that he was a ______ for punishment.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is 'a glutton for punishment', so the noun glutton fits. Gluten is a food protein, gluttony is the habit, and gluttonous is an adjective, so none of them fit the pattern 'a ___ for punishment'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “glutton”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.