dévorer

Literally to devour or eat ravenously, but just as often used figuratively — dévorer un livre (to devour a book), dévorer des yeux (to devour with one's eyes, i.e. stare hungrily), or le feu dévore la forêt (the fire consumes the forest). The figurative senses are at least as common as the literal one.

• Le chien a dévoré sa gamelle en trente secondes. — The dog devoured its bowl of food in thirty seconds.
• Elle a dévoré ce roman en une nuit. — She devoured that novel in one night.
• Il la dévorait des yeux depuis l'autre bout de la salle. — He was staring hungrily at her from across the room.

Learners tend to reach only for manger quickly when they mean 'to eat fast' — dévorer is stronger and more vivid, and unlike manger it extends naturally to non-food objects (books, distance, flames), which is where English speakers under-use it.

• expression dévorer des yeux — A standard fixed expression meaning to stare at someone or something with intense desire or fascination — listed in French dictionaries and expression references (e.g. Expressio, Wiktionnaire) as a set phrase, not a free combination.