Meaning & use
guzzler
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A person or animal that drinks or eats something very quickly and in large amounts.
Grammar: Often follows what is consumed: a soda guzzler.
Patterns
- a guzzler of something
My brother is a real soda guzzler and goes through two bottles a day.
The puppy is a messy water guzzler, spilling half of it on the floor.
The party hosts hid the juice from the little guzzlers.
nouncountableinformal
A machine, especially a vehicle, that uses a lot of fuel or power.
Grammar: Most often seen in the compound gas guzzler.
Patterns
- gas guzzler
- a power guzzler
His old truck is a real gas guzzler, so he rarely drives it.
Old air conditioners are power guzzlers compared with new ones.
The big V8 sedan was a notorious guzzler.
Word forms
| plural | guzzlers |
|---|
Common combinations
- gas guzzler
- The new tax targets every gas guzzler on the road.
- a beer guzzler
- He was a beer guzzler at every barbecue.
- an energy guzzler
- The old fridge is an energy guzzler.
- a water guzzler
- Lawns are water guzzlers in a dry summer.
- a notorious guzzler
- That model was a notorious guzzler of fuel.
Synonyms and how they differ
- drinker
- This is a neutral word for someone who drinks, whereas guzzler stresses speed and amount.
- glutton
- This describes a person who eats too much and has a stronger, more critical tone than guzzler.
- consumer
- This is a neutral, formal word for anyone or anything that uses a resource, while guzzler is informal and critical.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: guzzler or guzzle?
guzzler vs guzzle
A guzzler is the person or thing doing it, while guzzle is the action of drinking or using something greedily.
Practice
The council plans to charge more to park large trucks, since each ____ uses far more fuel than a small car.
Choose one answer.
A guzzler is a vehicle that uses a lot of fuel. A sipper uses little, and tourist and commuter describe people, not fuel use.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “guzzler”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.